To help curb skyrocketing student debt, U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) recently reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would enact a series of measures requiring higher education institutions to be held accountable and share responsibility for student success.
“Higher education institutions should be preparing graduates for real-life careers,” Sen. Young said, “and we must have accountability to ensure students are not saddled with debt on the backs of taxpayers.”
The Student Protection and Success Act, S. 5072, which Sen. Young cosponsored on Oct. 11 alongside bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), 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, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
If enacted, S. 5072 also would require schools to pay a “risk-sharing fee” based on the total loan volume their students are not able to repay to the U.S. Department of Education and then allocate those funds to support schools that are better assisting low-income students, the summary says.
Sens. Young and Shaheen first introduced the same-named bill, S. 1525, during the 116th Congress, but the measure stalled in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
“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 Sen. Young.
Sen. Shaheen said the reintroduced 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,” she said.
S. 5072 has been referred for consideration to the Senate HELP Committee.