DENVER, CO- Sen. Michael Bennet announced his support of legislation that will allow those struggling with student loan debt the option to enroll in affordable repayment plans that will automate borrowers’ income information annually.

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The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5962, also known as the Streamlining Income-driven, Manageable Payments on Loans for Education (SIMPLE) Act earlier this week. The SIMPLE Act looks to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965. When the legislation came to the U.S. Senate, Senator Bennet knew it was important to announce his support.

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As a former Superintendent of Denver Public Schools, Senator Bennet believes that every student should have the opportunity to receive the same education. Senator Bennet considers this resolution to be a way to cut the red tape associated with automating the process of updating borrowers’ income information annually.

 

“Universities have become unaffordable for the average American family and expenses are getting to the point where people are starting to not send their children to college,” Bennet said.  “College attainment is becoming less and less equal in our nation. As a parent of three children, Caroline, Halina, and Anne, I want the best for my children. As my children get older, my wife and I start to think about how we will pay for our children’s education. We need to work at the federal, state, and local level to provide affordable programs for students to pay for their college education.”

 

Colorado ranks among the top three states in the U.S. where 37.5 percent of residents 25 and older have obtained a Bachelor’s degree. 54 percent of Colorado’s graduates carry student loan debt and on average people with college degrees in Colorado have $25,064 worth of student loan debt.

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Darryl Glenn thinks that Senator Bennet sends millions dollars to the Department of Education each year, and that those dollars should be returned to Colorado so parents, teachers and superintendents have the freedom to make choices and direct the education of their kids. Darryl Glenn does not acknowledge that legislation like this would only make the lives of Coloradans with student loan debt easier by only streamlining the loan repayment process.

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“As I have continuously supported legislation that allows for student loans to be repaid on an income based platform, H.R. 5962 only makes this process easier for the average American family,” Bennet said. “Following this legislation passing, our systems will automate entering loan recipient’s information and will make the lives of many working Americans simplified in the loan repayment process.”

 

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