“We encourage the Department to pursue policies that reduce disparities in the burden of student debt, simplify loan repayment, close donut holes in forgiveness programs, and improve the overall confidence of borrowers in the federal student loan system.”
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined 22 of his Senate colleagues in urging Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to expand student debt relief in the Department of Education’s upcoming higher education rulemaking.
The senators urged Cardona to consider proposed rulemaking that “will help to provide additional relief to struggling borrowers and close gaps in how these programs currently operate,” and “help build borrowers’ confidence in the federal student loan program’s efforts to put higher education within reach for more students, rather than creating complex or burdensome requirements that stop students from accessing or pursuing educational opportunities.”
Specifically, the letter calls for expanding relief to struggling borrowers by capping income-driven repayment plans at no more than ten percent of monthly income and increasing coverage to 250 percent of the federal poverty guideline in order to, “ensure that struggling borrowers can prioritize their basic living expenses like food, housing, child care, and health care.” The senators also proposed key improvements to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, and advocated that borrowers who have been cheated and defrauded, who attended a school that has closed, or who have total and permanent disabilities are able to access the debt forgiveness that they are owed.
The full text of the senators’ letter is available here.
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