Press Release - Durbin: Making College Affordable to be Priority in 110th Congress
Press Release - DURBIN: MAKING COLLEGE AFFORDABLE TO BE PRIORITY IN 110th CONGRESS
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) this week announced he will push for legislation in the 110th Congress that will cut student loan interest rates, increase the maximum Pell Grant award and make the college tuition tax deduction permanent. Durbin discussed plans to make a college education more accessible and affordable during roundtable discussions today at Heartland Community College in Normal and yesterday at John Wood Community College in Quincy.
"We need to make it a priority to ease the college debt squeeze on students," Durbin said. "We need to invest in our students' future by increasing Pell Grants, cutting student and parent loan interest rates by 50 percent and making the college tuition tax deduction permanent. America needs to make a serious investment in order to ensure college access for all students and remain the world's economic leader."
In July 2006, interest rates increased to 6.8 percent for students with subsidized loans - which go to students with the most financial need - and 8.5 percent for parent PLUS loans - loans parents take out to help pay for their child's education.
More and more students are leaving school with debt, Durbin said. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average student debt has increased by more than 50% over the last decade. In 2004, nearly two-thirds of all four-year college graduates nationwide had loan debt, compared with less than one-third of graduates in 1993. Here in Illinois, 66% of undergraduate students took out loans to pay for college.
Over the last three decades, the ratio of federal aid in the form of grants versus loans has changed significantly. During the 1975-1976 school year, 77% of federal aid going to students nationally was in the form of grants, and only 20% was loans. In contrast, by the 2004-2005 school year, it was almost the exact opposite - 70% loans and 20% grants.
In 2006, Durbin introduced the "Reverse the Raid on Student Aid" bill, which cuts interest rates in half, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent, for students with subsidized loans - which go to students with the most financial need - and from 8.5 percent to 4.25 percent for parent PLUS loans. Under Durbin's legislation, the typical undergraduate student borrower with $17,500 in student loan debt would save $5,600 over the life of his or her loan. According to The College Board, the price of tuition, fees, room and board at four-year public institutions increased 27 percent between the 2001-2002 and 2006-2007 school years.
Students and parents facing skyrocketing college costs can't look to federal grants for relief.
"Despite the rising cost of college, the maximum Pell grant has remained at $4,050 for the past four years, and President Bush's 2007 budget proposal once again kept the maximum Pell grant frozen at $4,050. More must be done when the new Congress convenes next year to ensure that no student is denied a college education because of his or her family's financial resources."
Durbin has long supported making the college tuition tax deduction permanent, which allows qualified taxpayers to deduct up to $4,000 in tuition and fees from their taxable income. Congress failed to extend that deduction this year, despite preliminary data from the IRS showing 4.7 million people took advantage of the deduction in 2004an increase of 1.3 million from 2003 numbers.
http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=266157&&