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November
14, 2001
Dear Representative,
I am writing
to urge you to support H.R. 1622, the Affordable Student Loan
Act, introduced by Representative George Miller. The Affordable
Student Loan Act will help to make college more affordable
and ease the burden of student loan debt.
A college
education is one of the best investments of a lifetime. In
the workforce, a college degree is worth 75 percent more than
a high school diploma, or $600,000 over the course of a career.
However, the rising cost of a college education causes students
to shoulder increasingly large loan burdens. Student loan
volumes have more than doubled in the last seven years to
$35 billion a year.
New data
from the Department of Education shows that the average student
at a four-year public college graduates with $16,243 in loan
debt. At four-year private colleges the average debt total
jumps to $17,613. Students who graduate with high loan debts
are more likely to default on their loans, delay major purchases
and forgo public service.
Exacerbating
the situation, the federal government charges fees of up to
four percent of the loan principal. These fees were instituted
in 1981 to help reduce the deficit. Currently the government
actually makes money from the student loan program.
For students,
the fees on student loans come at the worst possible time;
when the money is needed to pay for books, tuition, and living
expenses. Origination and insurance fees are monies that are
never seen by the student, but accrue interest and add to
the burden of paying back the loan after graduation.
As student
loan burdens rapidly increase, H.R. 1622 is an important step
in preserving higher education access to students. The Affordable
Student Loan Act eliminates origination and insurance fees
on federal student loans and would save a typical student
$677 on their loans. I urge you to support H.R. 1622.
Sincerely,
Ellynne
Bannon
State PIRGs' Higher Education Advocate
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