Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) recently reintroduced legislation they said is designed to reverse the nation’s expanding student debt crisis.
Booker and Schatz, co-sponsors of the legislation, said the Debt-Free College Act restores a path to affordable college by providing states incentives through matching grants to increase investments in public higher education and provide students with debt-free college.
“Higher education is one of the surest paths to economic security and prosperity for Americans, but the astronomical price tag means that ladder of opportunity remains elusive for many students,” Booker said. “Millions of students across the country are graduating with an unprecedented amount of student debt and low-income students are hurt the most. By providing matching federal funds to states, our bill incentivizes states to help students pay for the full cost of a college degree – including the cost of living – without taking on debt.”
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York maintains student loan debt is responsible for 35 percent of the decline in homeownership since 2007 while the percentage of younger people who reported owning a business was cut in half between 2010 and 2013.
“The full cost of college, including books, room and board, and supplies, is more than twice as much as tuition,” Schatz said. “If we are going to be serious about solving the student loan debt crisis, we need to focus on the real cost to students and their families. My bill brings states back to the table and leverages federal dollars to reinvest in public education and help people cover the full cost of college.”