(NNPA)—With outstanding student loans totaling more than $1trillion and still counting, the White House and Congress have proposed measures to ease the financial burden now borne by 25 million borrowers.
At the White House on June 9, President Obama endorsed Senate and House bills that would allow student loan borrowers to refinance their loans into lower interest rates. He also directed the Department of Education to begin a public rulemaking procedure to expand the most generous income-based repayment options to an estimated 5 million more borrowers.
The new “Pay as You Earn Program “limits monthly loan payments to no more than 10 percent of income and forgives any remaining money owed after 20 years of payments. It is also expected to save the average student loan borrower $2,000 over the life of the loans.
President Obama said, “I’m only here because this country gave me a chance at higher education with help in the form of loans, grants and scholarships. This is why I feel so strongly about this.”
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