Rosen Discusses College Affordability Issues with Latino Students, Announces Support for Legislative Efforts to Help Students Refinance Their Loans

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Jacky Rosen (NV-03), a member of the Career & Technical Education Caucus, toured Nevada State College's (NSC) campus in Henderson and spent time with Latino students. NSC is the first higher education institution in Nevada to receive a Department of Education's Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grant. Following the tour, Rosen announced her co-sponsorship of the Student Loan Refinancing Act. This bill aims at helping students by removing restrictions to refinance student loans and giving non-traditional students from low and middle-income families added flexibility to achieve a college degree.

"As the first in my family to graduate from college, I understand the positive and transformative impact higher education can have for regular people trying to get ahead in life," said Rosen. "Students from hardworking families are too often struggling to find the resources to help them get their degree or pay off student loan debt, and these commonsense bills will have a positive impact on students at Nevada State College and around the country."

"We were thrilled to spend time with Congresswoman Rosen today and to hear more about the work she is doing in Washington to benefit students in Nevada," added Dr. Edith Fernandez, Associate Vice President for Community Engagement and Diversity Initiatives at Nevada State College.

"I'm grateful for the work Congresswoman Rosen is doing to help students like me refinance my student loans and have more flexibility in getting my degree," said Alejandra Carrillo-Marroquin, student at Nevada State College. "My degree from Nevada State College will open doors for my future, and we need leaders working in Washington to make higher education more accessible."

BACKGROUND: Congresswoman Rosen wrote a letter in support of full funding for FY 19 National Science Foundation's grant program for STEM education at Hispanic Serving Institutions, including a letter of support for Nevada State College's application for this grant program. Rosen also has supported funding Department of Education programs, including full funding for the TRIO programs and HSI grants.

Rosen has supported numerous measures aimed at helping students achieve higher education, including:

Discharge Student Loans in Bankruptcy Act - This bill would allow student loans to be dischargeable during bankruptcy. Currently, credit card debt, auto loans, and home mortgages are dischargeable during bankruptcy. Student loans can only be discharged if the borrower proves "undue hardship" through the courts, which is a vague definition.

Perkins Loan Extension Act of 2017 - This bill would extend the Perkins Loan Program for two years. Perkins Loans are low-interest federal student loans for low-income undergraduate and graduate students.

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