Improvements to Solve the Student Debt Crisis

Statement

The student debt crisis faced by the American public is a serious and growing problem in the United States. The cost of college tuition is skyrocketing, which is severely limiting the number of high school graduates who can access higher education, and those students who do graduate are often times saddled with a tremendous amount of debt.

Fortunately, there are affordable options for college education, such as state universities and community colleges which continue to provide higher education opportunities at a lesser cost. While serving in the New York State Senate, as a member of the Higher Education Committee, I helped put together legislation to improve the SUNY system, which included expansions for tuition assistance opportunities for students, so that more students had access to an affordable college education.

Despite more affordable options, estimates show that currently 40 million Americans have student debt totaling over $1.2 trillion. In Congress, I introduced legislation to help lower student debt by simplifying the student loan process for undergraduate and graduate students. My bill, the Earnings Contingent Education Loans Act, or ExCEL Act (H.R. 3695), would establish an affordable and flexible, income-based repayment method that is molded to each individual's needs. This flexible repayment approach focuses on the student's ability to repay loans based on their income to ensure the student is not being set up to fail, while establishing a program that ensures loans are paid back in their entirety, and incentivizes graduates to repay their loans more quickly. This approach helps those who need help the most. Since virtually every available statistic shows that individuals with lower incomes are most likely to struggle with loan repayments, this approach is the most direct option available to lower student loan debts. While there are other possible solutions to address this issue such as lowering interest rates and being able to refinance interest rates, allowing an individual's debt to be tied directly to flexible loan repayments is the clearest options available that does not require significant tax increases to accomplish its goal.

I also helped introduce bipartisan legislation in the House, the Pell Grant Flexibility Act (H.R. 5764), which expands federal Pell Grant tax credits. This important bill would allow grants to cover both tuition and non-tuition expenses, such as textbooks, housing, transportation and child care. Working across the aisle, the House passed a significant increase for the funding of Pell Grants, nearly $22.5 billion overall for Pell Grants, representing an over $1,000 increase in the maximum award for each student, which was signed into law by the President.

There is so much more that can be done by multiple levels of government to help younger Americans achieve their full potential as future leaders of this great country. In Congress, I will continue to support legislation to address this crisis, so that students can afford college and graduates can afford to pay off their debt.

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