WJBO: Sen. Landrieu introduces her new Passport to the Middle Class education initiative
U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today launched her “Passport to the Middle Class” initiative to increase college access and affordability for students and families in Louisiana and across the country. The initiative includes the Middle Class Creating Higher Education Affordability Necessary to Compete Economically (CHANCE) Act, which would nearly double the Pell Grant award to $8,900 from $5,730, to combat increasing college costs. The current maximum Pell award for next year will cover, on average, only one-third of the cost of a public four-year college in Louisiana, the smallest share of college costs since the start of the Pell program in 1972.
Sen. Landrieu’s initiative also includes the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Act that allows both borrowers with private and federal undergraduate loans to refinance at 3.86%, the current rate agreed upon in the Bipartisan Student Loan Compromise. There are nearly 600,000 student loan borrowers in Louisiana, with an average loan of $22,789. Allowing these responsible borrowers to get a fair interest rate would save them an average of $8,000 over the life of the loan (25 years).
