WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today published an op-ed on Fox News advocating for better solutions to student debt forgiveness, as student debt forgiveness has become the policy du jour of the left.
“As good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we must not always take the easy road out. On student debt, that means helping borrowers access that which has already been made available,” Dr. Cassidy wrote.
There are many options for individuals to make affordable payments without harming current and future student borrowers, such as income-based repayment plans that allow borrowers to make qualified loan payments based on a percentage of their discretionary income. These plans already have forgiveness built into the end of the repayment period, which can range from 20 to 25 years.
However, these repayment plans are often complicated and overlooked. Borrowers may not realize these plans exist or find the eight different options overwhelming.
Congress and the administration should work together to inform borrowers of these repayment plans and simplify options to remove confusion.
Any debt forgiveness sought by the administration and congressional Democrats should be limited. Their focus should instead be on enrolling more borrowers into income-based repayment plans so as not to skew benefits toward high-income earners, which would be the unfortunate outcome of universal student debt forgiveness.
You can read the full op-ed here.
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