This week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) will reintroduce the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act. The bill would allow those with existing student loans to refinance their federal loans down to the current lower rates.
“I appreciate Senator Warren’s persistence in bringing this bill forward,” said AACRAO Executive Director Mike Reilly. “It could save a great deal of money for upwards of 25 million student loan borrowers, including those who took out private loans. I recognize there are challenges in paying for this and it doesn’t address underlying college cost issues, but it provides relief for millions of Americans who need it.”
Outstanding student loans total over $1.2 trillion, surpassing total credit card debt. Last year, lawmakers passed the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act, lowering federal loan rates for new borrowers, but not affecting those already saddled with student loans.
Warren’s initial bill was stalled in the Senate earlier this summer after Democrats failed to end a filibuster.
Warren issued a call to action last week, urging voters to call their senators ahead of the Senate’s expected vote on the measure.
“[Student loan debt] is stopping young people from moving out of their parents’ homes, from saving for a down payment, buying homes, buying cars, starting small businesses, saving for retirement, or making purchases that grow our economy. It doesn’t have to be this way,” said Warren.
Find out how state and federal policies are affecting your institution’s financial aid office at AACRAO’s upcoming Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Los Angeles, CA.