Shaheen Reintroduces Legislation to Help Students Manage Debt
**Shaheen’s Bill would Give Students Access to Comprehensive Online Database to Manage Debt & Better Navigate Repayment**
**Americans Owe More than $1.75 Trillion in Student Loan Debt – Surpassing Total Credit Card Debt**
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) reintroduced the Simplifying Access to Student Loan Information Act, which calls for the development of a central online portal to allow students to review all their public and private student loans, as well as repayment options, in one place. This would help students better manage, understand and repay their debt.
“Exorbitant student debt continues to put higher education and economic opportunity out of reach for students across the nation. That’s why I’m pushing for a comprehensive approach to tackle the student debt crisis by helping students understand and manage their debt,” said Shaheen. “Ensuring students in New Hampshire and across the country have access to tools and planning to pay off their loans is an essential step for success in higher education. There is no better investment than investing in the success of future generations.”
Nationally, Americans owe more than $1.75 trillion in student debt. According to a 2020 report by the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), New Hampshire ranked as one of the highest debt states with 70 percent of Granite Staters graduating with student debt, of which the average debt level was $39,928.
Specifically, the Simplifying Access to Student Loan Information Act would amend the Higher Education Act and the Truth in Lending Act to expand the National Student Loan Data System to include comprehensive student loan information for both private and public student loans. Currently, only federal student loan information is available within the database. Shaheen’s legislation would create a virtual one-stop shop where students and borrowers can better manage their debt and gain easier, more comprehensive access to debt and repayment options.
The full text of the Simplifying Access to Student Loan Information Act is available here.
Senator Shaheen has led efforts in Congress to help students manage their debt and to make college more affordable, championing legislation to increase access to higher education for Granite Staters. She recently reintroduced her bill, the Student Protection and Success Act, which works to curb skyrocketing student debt by increasing higher education institutions’ accountability for their students’ ability to repay their loans and requiring institutions to have a vested interest in the success of their students. In August, Shaheen joined a bicameral push urging the Biden administration to extend the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) waiver deadline. Shaheen has previously introduced legislation to aid undergraduate borrowers and successfully ushered her legislation with Senators Baldwin (D-WI), Braun (R-IN) and Fischer (R-NE) to combat student debt relief scams through Congress. It was signed into law in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaheen led and supported numerous efforts to provide necessary relief to students and their families to afford college and other higher education opportunities. Last year, Shaheen helped introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would double the Pell Grant award and make college more affordable.
###
