Yesterday afternoon, Congressman Tim Bishop participated in a White House ceremony at which President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum aimed at making a college education more affordable for millions of American students.
The Presidential Memorandum directs the Department of Education to develop regulations to permit 5 million student borrowers the opportunity to cap their student loan payments at 10% of their discretionary income. This action would build on legislative action taken by Congressman Bishop in 2011 to increase the number of borrowers eligible for income-based repayment programs.
“Access to higher education should be as easy as possible for all Americans,” said Congressman Bishop. “Allowing graduates the opportunity to cap their loan payments based on their level of income will reduce the burden for many young adults just entering the workforce. I fully support this initiative and look forward to reviewing the proposed regulations.”
Congressman Bishop has been a strong advocate for college affordability since his time as an administrator at Southampton College. Currently, he is working to stop lenders from automatically defaulting on private education loans when a co-signer dies. The Protecting Students from Automatic Default Act (H.R. 4511) is pending before the House Committee on Financial Services. Bishop is a senior member of the House Education & Workforce Committee and sits on the Higher Education & Workforce Training Subcommittee.
Source: Press release issued by the Office of Congressman Bishop, June 10.
