U. S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NC, is seeking to overhaul America’s cumbersome system of federal aid to education.
She is one of the backers of the PROSPER Act now making its way through Congress. “College students now pick from six types of federal loans, nine repayment plans, eight forgiveness programs, and 32 deferment and forbearance options,” Kari Travis reports in The Carolina Journal. “The HEA[Higher Education Act] is overdue for a makeover, Foxx told Carolina Journal in an exclusive interview.”
“The PROSPER Act would gut Stafford and PLUS loans from the system, replacing them with an unsubsidized Federal ONE Loan. Additionally, all federal grants — except for the Pell Grant — would be thrown out.” PROSPER stands for Promoting Real Opportunity, Success, and Prosperity through Education Reform.
“America’s student debt topped $1.3 trillion in 2017, show data from the Pew Research Center,” Travis reports. “In 2011, roughly two-thirds of college seniors between the ages of 18-24 took out loans.”
“Median student loan debt in the U.S. is about $20,000.”
