Details Emerge on Obama Student Loan Plan
Posted: October 25, 2011 Filed under: Barack Obama, Domestic Policy | Tags: consolidation, Obama plan, student loan debt 4 Comments
Some details on the Obama Student Loan relief program have been released prior to the President’s speech on Wednesday in Denver. The new program expedites changes that were not to take effect until 2014. It adds a few more provisions including the ability to consolidate loans into the direct government plan.
The plan also would accelerate imposition of a cap on payments at 10 percent of income for some people with federal education loans by having it take effect next year rather than in 2014, Melody Barnes, White House domestic policy adviser, told reporters.
For some workers burdened by student loans the changes “could reduce their payments by hundreds of dollars every single month,” Barnes said.
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Under the loan proposal, people who have student loans through both the direct government loan program and the Federal Family Education Loan program would be able to consolidate what they owe into a single government loan with lower monthly payments and interest rates, Barnes said.
That could reduce by as much as 0.5 percent the interest paid by 5.8 million people, saving borrowers hundreds of dollars, she said.
The acceleration of the 10 percent income cap would affect an estimated 1.6 million borrowers whose type of loan and whose debt in proportion to income and family size makes them eligible for the federal student loan Income-Based Repayment Plan, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.
This program is aimed at reducing the number of defaulting loans that have now reached highs not seen since 1997. Student loan debt has just reached 1 trillion dollars and rivals the level of credit card debt.
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in other words : student loans must be paid back …banks bailouts , not so much
Seems that way.
Interesting how only now, is ‘President Obama’ moving on some, issues of concern to the Democratic base. So, the protection of him, which Congresswoman Maxine Waters was addressing is very true, as not calling him on issues only made him more tone deaf to the hurting of the American people.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters is a true Democrat.
imo the leadership of OWS is part of that protection. We need vast and immediate reforms. No one has explained how camping, drumming, and giving Obama a total pass until Nov 2013 will do that. OWS does not have to be openly for Obama to help him. It just has to take Left heat off him…and it has done so. Once the primary deadline is passed, it will have served its purpose : protecting Obama from left heat…and then the pro left will spend the rest of campaign 2012 pointing to the crazy Repugs…( it helps that they are crazy) and Obama is in without even having to pretend he’ll change..oh but he will. Once he’s in again, then you will really see him go right. Please remember that Mike Bloomberg’s girl friend sits on the board of the HQ park owners ….and that Bloomberg predicted riots well before all this. And as always I have to stress , of course I’m not speaking of those who are there in all sincerity .