Shaheen reintroduces bipartisan bill that makes college share student loan responsibility

WASHINGTON – While President Biden’s executive order on college student debt continues to face legal challenges, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Todd Young (R-IN) have reintroduced a bill seeking to curb student debt by increasing the accountability of higher education institutions.

The proposed Student Protect and Success Act would remove federal student loan eligibility from any colleges or universities were less than 15 percent of students are able to begin replaying their loans upon graduation or leaving school. Schools would also have a “risk-sharing fee” based on the total loan volume their students are not able to repay to the U.S. Department of Education, with funding from those fees going to assist lower-income students.

“When it comes to college affordability, we need to be forward-looking to not only prepare our kids to enter college but also for what comes after, so they can find opportunities and success in the workforce. That’s precisely what our legislation seeks to do,” said Shaheen. “Our bipartisan 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.”

“Higher education institutions should be preparing graduates for real-life careers, and we must have accountability to ensure students are not saddled with debt on the backs of taxpayers. 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 Young.

Full text of the Student Protection and Success Act, S.5072, is available here.