COURTNEY JOINS STUDENTS AND LOCAL PROFESSIONALS TO CONDEMN THE GOP EFFORT TO MAKE COLLEGE MORE EXPENSIVE

As the cost of higher education soars, a bill passed by the Republican-led education committee this week will make college more expensive for middle-class families across the country

NORWICH, CT —Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) a senior member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, joined college students and other community stakeholders for a press conference in Hartford to castigate House Republicans for undermining federal programs designed to reduce costs associated with a college degree. Specifically, the Republican PROSPER Act passed by the education committee earlier this week, ends the subsidized Stafford Loan program, slashes critical grants for students such as the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, eliminates the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and fails to address high-interest legacy loans by not allowing graduates to refinance existing debt.

Click here to view the full press conference from Hartford this morning

"If this effort by the House Republican majority is successful, millions of American families across the country who are preparing to send their children off to college will face higher costs and fewer options for federal aid," said Courtney. "What the PROSPER Act would do is actually close avenues of affordability for millions of Americans and radically change programs that have been a part of the fabric of our society going back to the 1960s. The Republican's intended to quietly push this bill through a markup this week, but I joined my colleagues on the committee in sounding the alarm and attempting to undo some of the worst aspects of the bill. Unfortunately, even my bipartisan amendment to restore the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which supports firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public workers, was defeated.

"With the level of student debt in the U.S. soaring alongside the cost of a college degree, it is very hard to understand why Republicans are moving to further pull the rug out from beneath American's feet. Keeping higher education affordable for families must be a top priority in Washington. I am urging my colleague to reconsider this attack on middle-class families and instead act to relieve some of the burdens on families.

"I was proud to be joined by Dr. Shannon Rayman, a veteran with $240,000 in medical debt who explained how she would not have been able to pursue a career in family medicine without the PSLF, and Lindsay Aroheim, a school psychologist who would not be able to serve children coping with mental health issues without the program."

Democratic members were only provided the text of the bill, which is 590 pages long, six days prior to the markup in committee. No legislative hearings were ever scheduled before the bill and its amendments were voted on.

The bill makes a number of sweeping changes to provide more support for for-profit institutions, dramatically rework the federal student aid program, and cease teacher preparation programs, among others.

Courtney was joined at the media event by:

Dr. Shannon Rayman, Eastern CT Healthcare Network

Lindsay Aroheim, school psychologist and member of the Connecticut Education Association

Susan Mitchell, National Young Farmers Coalition

Thomas O'Sullivan, Senior at Southern CT State University

Walter Dodson, UConn sophomore and representative from ConnPIRG

Josh Quintana, Senior at Central CT State University

Tony Patelunas, UConn Graduate Student

Click here to view Courtney's opening remarks from the committee markup on Tuesday

The GOP ‘PROSPER Act':

Ends subsidized loan programs

A cornerstone of the Higher Education Act (including the most recently passed College Cost Reduction Act of 2007) is Title IV federal financial assistance programs. The current financial aid structure directs federal dollars only to institutions that meet quality controls set forth by the Department of Education and provides a wide array of loan structures and repayment options to meet varying financial needs. The PROSPER Act would create the "Federal ONE Loan" to replace current unsubsidized and subsidized Stafford Loans and Parent and Graduate PLUS Loans. The "Federal ONE Loan" does not offer a subsidized loan option, which mirrors a budget proposal from the Trump White House to increase the cost of college by $3.9 billion annually. Further, the "ONE Loan" program will cap graduate loans at $150,000 rather than the current cap, which is the cost of attendance. Caps on graduate loans will force students obtaining advanced degrees, such as in medicine or engineering, to seek private loans that generally carry higher interest rates and have more stringent repayment requirements.

Slashes critical grants for students

As part of the major changes to the financial assistance structure, the PROSPER Act would eliminate the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)—a need-based grant to students that do not need to be paid back. FSEOG dollars are provided to universities to distribute to Pell-eligible students who may need extra support. For every three dollars of federal FSEOG support, a university matches one dollar. Eliminating this program means eliminating the last line of support for the neediest students. In addition to this program, the bill eliminates the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program. This program provides up to $4,000 per year for students who agree to teach for four years upon graduation. As a whole, the elimination of these two grant programs, in addition to subsidized loan programs, will negatively affect 8.5 million students annually.

Eliminates Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007 as part of the College Cost Reduction Act. PSLF provides debt forgiveness to qualifying applicants who have completed 120 on-time, qualifying payments during full-time public service employment. This debt relief enables students to pursue careers that are integral to the health and well-being of our communities, including teachers, nurses, and first responders. The PROSPER Act ends PSLF. Without this program, the combination of student debt and low wages could create a barrier to entry into public service professions; therefore, PSLF is critical to workforce recruitment and retention in these fields. Congressman Courtney offered an amendment to the PROSPER Act that would save the PSLF program and expand it to include farmers and employees of veterans service organizations. The bipartisan amendment was supported by nearly 200 organizations including the National Fraternal Order of Police, the National Young Farmers Coalition, and the American Legion. Even with the support of multiple Republicans on committee, the amendment failed by a vote of 19-20.

Fails to address high-interest legacy loans

Student loans account for $1.3 trillion of all consumer debt—the highest amount of consumer debt outside of a mortgage—and the average borrower carries nearly $30,000 in education debt. This is a drag not just on a student, graduate, or their family; it's a drag on our entire economy that impacts when – or if – a borrower can buy a home, start a family, start a business, or change careers. Old loans are locked into high interest rates by Congress, and a recent GAO report concludes that the federal government is projected to make $66 billion on student loans that were issued from 2007-2012. Congressman Courtney offered an amendment to the PROSPER Act that would simply provide college graduate with the ability to refinance their high-interest student loan debt at lower rates. This proposal, which mirrors the standalone Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, would allow student loan debt to be refinanced in the same way as mortgages, car loans, and credit card debt. Unfortunately, this amendment was also defeated by a vote of 18-21.