Rep. Grijalva Joins Colleagues to Introduce New Bill to Lower Cost of College

Today, Rep. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) joined House Education & Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee Chair Frederica Wilson (FL-24) in introducing the Lowering Obstacles to Achievement Now (LOAN) Act,to lower the cost of college for current and future student borrowers and their families in Arizona and across the country.

"The new legislation builds on President Biden's historic one-time student loan debt relief announcement last month to forgive up to $20,000 in outstanding federal student loan debt for millions of borrowers," said Rep. Grijalva. "While the President's actions will provide urgent relief for millions of Americans who currently hold student loans, Congress' work to support students cannot end until we address the root causes of the student debt crisis, including the declining value of the Pell Grant coupled with skyrocketing costs. I'm proud to join my colleagues in introducing this important legislation and will continue to fight to make a quality higher education more affordable and accessible."

Rep. Grijalva is a strong supporter of debt-free college and legislation, like the Debt-Free College Act, that would provide a path for students to receive a debt-free quality education at both 2- and 4- year public universities.

Student loans often follow borrowers long after college and can prevent them from planning for important life events like buying a house or having a child. The burden falls particularly hard on women and people of color, who take on disproportionally larger amounts of debt and are less likely to be able to pay off the debt throughout the course of their careers.

TheLOAN Act would lower the cost of college for current and future student borrowers and their families. The legislation:

Doubles the federal Pell Grant by increasing the max award over 5 years to $13,000, building on the $1,775 increase to the maximum award as proposed in President Biden's budget;
Improves the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program by shortening the time to forgiveness and broadly codifying the current PSLF waiver;
Makes loans less expensive by expanding access to subsidized loans, limiting capitalization of interest including after forbearance and deferment, and creating a safety net for vulnerable borrowers; and
Lowers interest rates by tying interest rates for all new Federal student loans to the 10-year Treasury note but ensuring that no new loan will have an interest rate higher than 5 percent and allowing both federal and private borrowers to take advantage of these lower rates.

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