Shaheen, Young Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Address Student Debt Crisis by Increasing Institutional Accountability
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN) reintroduced their bipartisan 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.
The Student Protection and Success Act would enact a series of measures requiring higher education institutions to be held accountable and share responsibility for student success. The bill would remove federal student loan eligibility from all colleges and universities where less than 15 percent of their students are able to begin repaying their loans within three years of graduating or leaving school. The bill would also require schools to pay a “risk-sharing fee” based on the total loan volume their students are not able to repay to the Department of Education and then allocate those funds to support schools that are better assisting low-income students.
“When it comes to college affordability, we need to be forward-looking to not only prepare our kids to enter college but also for what comes after, so they can find opportunities and success in the workforce. That’s precisely what our legislation seeks to do,” said Senator Shaheen. “Our bipartisan bill would increase accountability measures for loan repayments on higher education institutions so that they have to keep their promises to borrowers and empower graduates with the resources necessary to succeed after graduation. This bipartisan effort is an investment in student success and the sustainability and strength of our future workforce.”
“Higher education institutions should be preparing graduates for real-life careers, and we must have accountability to ensure students are not saddled with debt on the backs of taxpayers. I’m proud to reintroduce the Student Protection and Success Act so that colleges and universities have an incentive to ensure graduates are able to repay their student loans,” said Senator Young.
Full text of the Student Protection and Success Act is available here.
Senator Shaheen has led efforts in Congress to help students manage their debt and to make college more affordable. 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.
