Congressman turns hundreds of comments about Iowans' experiences with college student loans over to Secretary of Education
Washington, D.C. - After asking for and receiving hundreds of stories about Iowans' experiences attaining and paying back student loans, Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today shared those comments with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
"The Department of Education needs to hear first-hand from Iowans about the struggles current and former students face as they try to get and repay student loans," Braley said. "The fact is that tuition and debt levels are rising much more quickly than wages?and we've got a responsibility to put solutions on the table."
Iowa students graduate with the 6th highest average student debt of any state. According to the Project on Student Debt, the average debt of an Iowa college graduate is $29,456 and Iowa ranks 3rd nationally in the percentage of students who graduate with debt, with nearly 71% taking on student loan debt.
Yesterday, Braley unveiled the outline of his College Affordability Plan which contains four central components to help students, graduates and parents deal with rising tuition costs and growing student loan debt. The plan includes tax incentives, a grant program for current college students facing financial hardship, and a bill allowing students to refinance their loans at lower market rates.
For decades college tuition costs have been rising significantly. Student loan debt today totals $1.2 trillion, $864 billion of which is backed by the federal government. More than 70 percent of students who graduated from college in 2012 had student loan debt.
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