Mikulski Fights For Student Debt Relief

Mikulski Fights For Student Debt Relief

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has joined Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) to introduce the Student Debt Relief Act to provide aid to students who borrow loans to pay for their education.

"College tuition is on the rise across America. Our students are graduating with so much debt it's like their first mortgage," said Senator Mikulski. "American families are stressed and stretched, and students are looking for help. We must make access to higher education a priority for everyone."

The legislation outlines relief for student debt by addressing a number of critical issues including:

- Pell Grants: Increases maximum Pell Grant to $5,100.

- Interest Rates: Cuts student loan interest rates in half - to 3.4 percent for subsidized undergraduate student loans over 5 years.

- Debt Relief: Caps federal student loan payments at 15 percent of a borrower's monthly discretionary income, and forgives student loans after 25 years.

- Public Service Loan Forgiveness: Provides loan forgiveness for social workers, teachers, police officers and other public sector employees after 10 years.

- College Tuition Tax Deduction: Extends college tuition tax deduction and increases allowable deduction to $12,000.

- Consolidation/Reconsolidation: Allows students to reconsolidate loans, repeals the elimination of in-school consolidation.

- Origination Fees: Reduces origination frees in Direct Loan program by 1 percent to track FFEL program origination fee reduction, and gives secretary explicit authority to reduce origination fees (as FFEL lenders have).

http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=267819