Senate reaches compromise on Student Loan Rate Extension, House’s turn
Senate Agreement on Student Loans By JONATHAN WEISMAN Published: New York Times (June 26, 2012) WASHINGTON — The Senate Democratic and Republican leaders on Tuesday reached an agreement on legislation to extend subsidized federal student loans, adding bipartisan pressure to House Republicans to come along before rates double July 1. The $6.7 billion agreement would extend the current 3.4 percent rate on Stafford loans for one year, with about $700 million extra for deficit reduction, according to Senate leadership aides. The bulk…
President Obama Streamlines Students’ Access to IBR
President Obama Steamlines IBR Enrollment Early last week, President Obama issued a presidential memorandum to improve repayment options for student loan borrowers. Effective September 30, 2012, student loan borrowers will find it easier to enroll in Income-Based Repayment (IBR) programs by being able to electronically transfer their income data directly from the Internal Revenue Service into their IBR application. This welcomed change removes a cumbersome step in the current process that requires borrowers to submit a signed copy…
Small Town America Wants YOU! Cities Offer Student Loan Relief to Attract Youth.
Suppose that you are a mayor or city manager for a town whose population is rapidly aging. Your teenagers graduate high school, go off to college and only return for mandatory holiday appearances... If you're not fortunate enough to have "golf-friendly weather" year-round, you need to come up with a way to attract more young professionals... And what do we know about young professionals? They have student loans and lots of them. So innovative community leaders in Niagra Falls, NY and fifty counties in Kansas are among the first…
Obama v. Romney 2012 (students caught in the middle)
Welcome to the 2012 presidential election, student loan borrowers. YOU are going to have a front-row seat over the next three weeks as both parties propose alternative plans to pay for an extension of the current 3.4% interest rate on federally backed Stafford student loans before those rates double on July 1st. Since both parties desperately want your vote this November, neither is willing to let the rate increase go into effect. Before they can strike a deal however, they must first play a high stakes game of 'chicken'…
Deal reached on student loan transparency
Good news coming from the White House today as Congress has agreed on a deal that will allow incoming students for the 2013-14 school year will be the first to receive an easy-to-understand "shopping sheet" detailing the terms of their financial aid packages. The new requirements will provide students with a clear picture of not only the net cost of their education after grants and scholarships are applied, but also an estimate of the monthly payments they will have to make following graduation to repay their federal student loans. This is…
