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WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Congressman George Miller (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Reverse the Raid on Student Aid Act of 2006 to cut interest rates in half on college loans for student borrowers with the most financial need and for parent borrowers.
"The high cost of tuition should never prevent a qualified student from getting a college education, but Republican leaders in Congress apparently don't see it that way," said Miller, the senior Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. "Democrats want to take America in a new direction, and that includes reversing the Republican raid on student aid and making college more affordable for all students and families."
Earlier this year, the Republican-led Congress cut $12 billion out of the federal student aid programs in order to help finance tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. Miller and Durbin said today that this Republican Raid on Student Aid made college less affordable at a time when millions of American families are struggling to pay for higher education. They said that their new bill reflects the kind of serious investment that America must make if it wants to ensure college access for all students and remain the world's economic leader.
"Unless we act now, starting July 1st, the price of a college education will increase dramatically for students across the country," said Durbin. "New interest rates on student loans could make the ticket price of a higher education unaffordable, and cost students the opportunity to get a college education."
The Miller-Durbin "Reverse the Raid on Student Aid" bill 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 parents, starting in July 2006.
Under this new 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. Recent reports indicate that, from 2001 through 2006, the price of tuition, fees, and room and board at four-year public institutions has increased by 44 percent. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the average student debt has increased by more than 50 percent over the last decade.
As the price of college increases, so does the need to get one. Today, six out of every 10 jobs require some postsecondary education and training. Furthermore, today's college graduates earn over $1 million more over their lifetimes than those without college degrees.
"The concern for our global economic viability is real," said Durbin. "Raising interest rates on today's students shortchanges our children while threatening our country's ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace."
The legislation has been endorsed by Young Democrats of America, Rock the Vote, USAction, SEIU, US Students Association, AFSCME, Center for American Progress, College Democrats, Campaign for America's Future, Working America, Campus Progress, NAACP Youth and College Division, AFL-CIO, and the State PIRGs Higher Education Project.
For more information on Miller’s Reverse the Raid On Student Aid Act of 2006, please visit: http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/reverseraid.pdf
To see the full text of Miller’s “Reverse the Raid On Student Aid” legislation, please visit: http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/pdf/higheredbilltext.pdf
For an essay from Campaign for America's Future on the Raid on Student Aid, see: http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/14/the_raid_on_student_aid.php.
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