Democrats Introduce Bills to Assist with Student Loan Debt

Three bills are being introduced to help those who have fallen behind on their federal student loans get their credit back on track.

According to EducationData.org, student loan debt today exceeds $1.75 trillion for more than 43 million Americans.

Students who defaulted on their federal student loan payments and then worked to clear their debt are being targeted by House Democrats in a three-proposal package.

If the Clean State Through Consolidation Act is passed, federal student loan defaults will be erased off the credit histories of borrowers who combine their debts.

The Clean Slate Through Repayment Act would erase a borrower’s bad credit history associated with a defaulted federal student loan if the debt was fully repaid.

Once a borrower completes student loan rehabilitation, the Student Loan Rehabilitation and Credit Score Improvement Act would eliminate any bad credit reporting on a defaulted federal student loan.

“The debt is just too great,” said Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), another plan co-sponsor. “We’ve transformed colleges and universities into yet another barrier to families reaching the middle class.”

The campaign comes as Democrats in Congress have urged the Biden administration to rescind millions of borrowers’ student loan debt forgiveness.

However, there are doubts over whether the President has the ability to do so or whether Congress must intervene.

Republicans are also opposed to canceling student loan debt.

“I believe we should not be asking individuals who did not attend college to foot the bill for those who did,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) stated during an August 2021 hearing on student loan debt. “Forgiveness of debt would be extremely regressive and would disproportionately favor the wealthiest at the expense of others.”

Beginning Aug. 31, the temporary halt on federal student loan installments will come to an end.