U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT) introduced this week the Zero-Percent Student Loan Refinancing Act, which would allow borrowers to refinance federal loans to 0 percent through Dec. 31, 2024.
Courtney joined nine colleagues in co-sponsoring the measure, which would also automatically refinance debt for direct loan holders.
“Today’s jobs numbers should be a wake-up call to a lot of armchair economic experts that even though our recovery is moving forward, we’ve still got big challenges to overcome, and people still need support,” Courtney said. “That’s why President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, and it’s why the Federal Reserve has extended its zero-percent benchmark interest rate atmosphere well into 2023. That zero-percent benchmark will give financial breathing room to thousands of homeowners, small businesses, and others, and it absolutely should—they need it. But so do working Americans with publicly held student loans who cannot refinance unless Congress changes the law.”
Courtney said in addition to young people just entering the economy, student loan borrowers are represented by small business owners, teachers, and nurses trapped with legacy student loans with sky-high interest rates.
“They deserve the same opportunity to refinance their debt that so many Americans have right now, and the Zero-Percent Student Loan Refinancing Act would deliver that opportunity for them,” he said.