Louisiana Sen. Cassidy, other Republicans release plan to address student loan crisis

Louisiana U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is joining several other Republican senators in introducing a package of bills that would look to address rising higher education costs and soaring student debt – about two weeks after voting to overturn President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan.

Cassidy joined all other Senate Republicans in voting to kill Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for some borrowers, though the plan has been put on hold pending a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate passed the legislation to overturn the president’s plan, 52-46, but Biden vetoed the bill.

The plan put out by Cassidy and Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, John Cornyn of Texas, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, and Tim Scott of South Carolina includes several bills aimed at transparency, more information for prospective borrowers and limits on new loans.

“Our federal higher education financing system contributes more to the problem than the solution,” Cassidy said in a release. “Colleges and universities using the availability of federal loans to increase their tuitions have left too many students drowning in debt without a path for success. Unlike President Biden’s student loan schemes, this plan addresses the root causes of the student debt crisis. It puts downward pressure on tuition and empowers students to make the educational decisions that put them on track to academically and financially succeed.”

What’s in the plan?

The package, called the Lowering Education Costs and Debt Act, includes five bills. One, introduced by Cassidy, is called the College Transparency Act. The bill would reform the college data reporting system to provide students and families with better information on student success and outcomes when they are looking at different higher education programs.

A bill introduced by Grassley called the Understanding the True Cost of College Act would require colleges to use a uniform financial aid letter that clearly indicates the types of aid included, so students and families can understand and compare their financial aid options.

Sen. Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana, introduced the Informed Student Borrowing Act, which would offer more clear information on the duration of potential student loans, expected monthly payments, and how much money a student could expect to earn after attending their school and program of choice. It also would require borrowers to receive this information annually through loan counseling.

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Cornyn’s Streamlining Accountability and Value in Education for Students Act is also included in the package. The bill would streamline the repayment options for borrowers from nine options to two to provide clarity for students and families. The bill also limits new loans to undergraduate and graduate programs where students cannot earn more than a high school graduate or a bachelor’s degree recipient, respectively.

The final bill in the package is the Graduate Opportunity and Affordable Loans Act, introduced by Tuberville. The bill ends Graduate PLUS loans and limits graduate school borrowing. It also allows schools to put in lower loan limits by program to prevent students from overborrowing.

Why did they vote against the debt relief plan?

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Cassidy, who is the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has been critical of Biden’s loan forgiveness plan from the time it was announced. In a release announcing the package of bills, Cassidy said Biden’s plan does not address the underlying factors contributing to the student debt crisis.

In a release, the group of senators also argued that the plan shifts the responsibility of the debt from the borrowers to taxpayers to the tune of $400 billion.

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This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana's Bill Cassidy, other Republicans release student loan plan