U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., continued his fight for student loan reform this week, even as he folded his bill on the matter into another piece of legislation.
Rubio announced on Wednesday that he was backing a bill from U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., which would streamline federal student loan repayment. The bill also has the support of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who served as education secretary under President George H.W. Bush and led the University of Tennessee; U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.
Rubio and Warner teamed up last year in pushing a bill reforming student loan repayments based on income, but the King-Burr proposal would also include set repayment rates as well. Kings and Burrs Repay Act, which was introduced last year but went nowhere, would fix repayments over a 10-year period.
Helping more people achieve the American dream requires equipping them with the education and training necessary to do the jobs of the 21st century, Rubio said on Wednesday. The Repay Act would help modernize the income-based repayment system for student loans, which Sen. Warner and I have also been working on for the past year.
We need reforms like this to ensure that the burden of student loans is more manageable to discourage overborrowing, Rubio added. I believe this bills requirement for the GAO to study the best way to enroll, verify income and facilitate income-based repayment programs will ultimately help build momentum for other initiatives I will continue working on as the Senate considers higher education reform later this year.
Back in July, Rubio and Warner unveiled the Dynamic Student Loan Repayment Act, the core tenet of which is included in Kings and Burrs bill.
On average, todays graduates carry nearly $30,000 in student loan debt, Rubio and Warner said in a joint statement released when they brought out their bill in July. But our current loan repayment system often turns what should be reasonable debts into crippling payments. Some graduates are forced to work multiple jobs, often in fields they didnt train for, simply to keep from defaulting on these loans.
Current income-driven repayment plans are underutilized because the system is so complicated. Our proposal doesnt just layer another option on top of existing plans, the senators continued. Instead, it will streamline the current repayment options into a simpler, user-friendly repayment plan, one that automatically adjusts to the changes in a borrowers income with none of the hassle or paperwork required in the current system.
This issue is personal for both of us, the senators added. Neither of us could have attended college were it not for federal student loans. We both remember months when our paychecks were low and we werent sure if we could make our payments. Each of us has heard from constituents affected by crippling student debt. Our Dynamic Student Loan Repayment Act will provide an additional tool to help borrowers meet their obligations, and this must be part of a broader conversation about how to make higher education more affordable.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
