Merkley Introduces New Legislation to Guarantee Affordable Options for Repaying Student Loans

Press Release

Today, Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Access to Fair Financial Options for Repaying Debt (AFFORD) Act, new legislation that would guarantee all students are able to affordably pay off their student loans by making an income-based repayment option available to all student borrowers.

Additionally, he introduced the Income-Based Repayment Debt Forgiveness Act, which would ensure that borrowers are not hit with a huge tax bill when they complete income-based repayment of their loans.

"As the first in my family to go to college, I know how daunting the idea of taking on tens of thousands of dollars in debt is to students of modest means," said Merkley. "I still live in the blue collar neighborhood I grew up in, and I hear all the time from parents who fear that sending their kids to college will leave them trapped between large debt payments and small paychecks upon graduation. We need to take that fear out of the equation and ensure that all students can attend college with confidence that they will be able to afford their student loan payments."

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