Student loans

Join Bipartisan Group to Introduce New Legislation Prohibiting Interest from Accruing on Student Loans for Active- Duty Service Members; Bill Would Save Average Service Member Between $1,183 - $1,479

October 13, 2009 -- Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, U.S. Senators for Colorado, today joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing legislation that provides immediate student loan debt relief to active-duty service soldiers and members of the National Guard. Bennet, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Pension and Labor Committee (HELP), vowed to push for the bill in the committee.    » read more »

Berkeley, CA - 10/08/2009 - Nearly one in 10 community college students in the U.S. cannot get a federal student loan – the safest, most affordable way to borrow for college – because their schools choose not to participate in the federal loan programs.

A new issue brief from the Project on Student Debt found that more than 20 percent of the community college students in seven states have no access to federal loans, including six states (AL, GA, NC, LA, TN, VA) in the southern U.S. African-American and Native-American students were twice as likely as other students to lack access to federal student loans.    » read more »

September 17, 2009 -- “Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to give America's college students the biggest increase in financial aid since the GI Bill. The bill will guarantee increases for the Pell Grant program for the 2010-11 year and beyond. It will overhaul federal student loans to make them more efficient while saving taxpayers billions of dollars over the next decade.

A share of the savings will also help reduce the deficit and promote high quality early childhood programs. It will support Historically Black Colleges and Universities, ensuring that these critically important institutions are integral to institutional improvement efforts at both the national and state levels.    » read more »

Income-based repayment available starting July 1

July 1, 2009 -- Starting July 1, a new repayment option is available that makes monthly payments more affordable for Americans with heavy federal student loan burdens. The new Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan protects borrowers by linking payments to income and family size. A related new program offers additional benefits to those working in public service jobs.

"We know many graduates are concerned about their ability to repay student loans in the current economic environment," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "This new plan addresses the issue head on by giving them the option of a monthly payment tied to their income."    » read more »

Stabilizing Student Loan Market, Protecting Borrowers and Safeguarding

June 17, 2009 -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today announced that four companies were awarded contracts to service a portion of the approximately $550 billion outstanding federal student loan portfolio held by the Department. The selected contractors will also service loans originated by and sold to the Department in the future.

The award of these contracts provides the Department with the capacity necessary to support anticipated increases in the number of loans owned by the Department and ensures borrowers receive the assistance they need to effectively manage their federal student loan obligations.    » read more »

Governor Rell Signs Bill to Help More Students Get Higher Ed Loans

June 10, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell has signed a bill that will help more students get access to low-interest loans for higher education through a financing partnership the Governor helped establish last year with Connecticut credit unions. (Senate Bill 842: An Act Concerning A Student Loan Guarantee Program Reserve Fund.)    » read more »

Rhode Island Senator Discusses Legislation to Crack Down on High Interest Rates

June 8, 2009 -- Providence, R.I. - On the heels of sweeping credit card reform legislation recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) met today with Rhode Islanders affected by unfair credit card practices at the John Hope Settlement House in Providence. Whitehouse heard from consumers and small business owners about the impact of high interest rates and other tricks and traps on their families and businesses.    » read more »

Interested Colleges and Universities Must Sign Up for Yellow Ribbon Program before June 15 Deadline for 2009-2010 Term

June 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced today that it has entered into more than 700 agreements with institutions of higher learning across the nation to participate in the Post-9/11 GI Bill’s “Yellow Ribbon Program.”

Many schools signed agreements for participation in not only undergraduate programs, but graduate and doctoral programs as well. Some schools entered into one agreement that covered all their campuses throughout the United States.    » read more »

Relieve Providers’ Student Debt

June 5, 2009 -- HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the availability of nearly $200 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support student loan repayments for primary care medical, dental and mental health clinicians who want to work at National Health Service Corps (NHSC) sites. In exchange for the loan repayments, clinicians serve for two years with the Corps.    » read more »

May 29, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D?SD) announced today that the Teaching the Young People AmeriCorps program at the Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge will receive a $234,160 federal grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service. The funding allows 22 AmeriCorps members to receive up to $4,725 to pay for college or qualified student loans.

“These funds will allow AmeriCorps volunteers to continue meeting the needs of the Pine Ridge community,” Johnson said. “AmeriCorps volunteers are a great example of those who make our communities better. These programs maintain hundreds of thousands of volunteers and generate millions of hours of service to communities and families throughout the nation.”    » read more »

President Obama signs Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act

May 22, 2009 --
WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama signs the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, marking a turning point for American consumers and ending the days of unfair rate hikes and hidden fees.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – In a White House ceremony this afternoon, President Obama will sign the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act or Credit CARD Act of 2009, which offers a comprehensive approach to protecting consumers from unfair credit card practices. The bill builds on groundwork laid by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., in hearings and legislation over the past four years.

“Credit card companies have crossed line after line with outrageous practices that hurt American families and businesses,” Levin said. “They underestimated the ability of Congress to turn public outcry into public policy. We faced powerful forces against this effort, but we prevailed.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson and New York State Consumer Protection Board Chairperson and Executive Director Mindy A. Bockstein today issued the following statements in support of the federal Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009:

Statement from Governor David A. Paterson:    » read more »

Washington, DC - 05/19/2009 - Statement of Nick Bourke, manager of the Safe Credit Cards Project at the Pew Health Group:

“The Senate today joined the House in coming together to pass smart, strong, bipartisan legislation that puts an end to many unfair and deceptive credit card practices. This is a tremendous victory for the millions of credit card carrying consumers, many of whom will be able to avoid hundreds, even thousands of dollars in unfair fees and interest rate hikes.    » read more »

May 19, 2009 -- This afternoon, the United States Senate passed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 627) with huge bipartisan support by a vote of 90-5. The bill would curb some of the most arbitrary, abusive and unfair credit card lending practices that trap consumers in a vicious cycle of debt, including:    » read more »