It’s Time to Act on Student Debt |
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News |
Written by Jeff Smith, State Senator District 31 |
Wednesday, 26 August 2020 09:09 |
http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/uwgb-students-s5.jpg EAU CLAIRE, WI - Over the last four months, I was honored to participate in the Governor’s Task Force on Student Debt, established by Governor Tony Evers to address the student debt crisis impacting more than 700,000 Wisconsinites. The latest statistic from the Board of Governors shows the level of student debt owed has reached a mind-boggling $1.7 trillion; Wisconsin, alone, has more than $24 billion in student loan debt, according to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. After learning the extent of the student debt crisis, the Task Force came prepared to strategize on ways to provide necessary relief for Wisconsin families. Just last week, the Task Force released its final report to Governor Evers outlining the crisis and providing 8 recommendations to help solve it. For all the work we did on the Task Force, one thing is clear: the time to act on student debt relief is now. As a state, we must adopt these policy recommendations and fix this crisis to strengthen Wisconsin’s future. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Task Force was able to hold 8 virtual meetings. This format allowed us to hear testimony from current and former students, parents, borrowers, lenders and officials from other states. Some information was familiar to those of us who have navigated the system with our own children; other information highlighted the urgency in addressing this growing threat to our way of life.
As with so many other issues, the state and federal government have passed erroneous bills that have made things worse or have ignored the problem altogether, allowing student debt to become the monster it is today. Due to congressional action, debtors aren’t able to refinance student loans like you would with your home loan. At the state level, the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board lost much of its funding and authority to truly look out for borrowers’ best interests.
We winnowed down these 37 original ideas by combining and clarifying needs until we had 8 strong recommendations the entire group could accept as realistic policy changes we can implement at the state level. These recommendations won’t fix everything for everyone, but they will move us in the right direction. Collectively, the Student Debt Task Force proudly released the following recommendations: 1. Create a borrower Bill of Rights and Student Loan Ombudsman to protect borrowers throughout the entire borrowing process. 2. Enhance proprietary school regulations and reinstate the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board to strengthen oversight over predatory lending practices. 3. Expand access to financial literacy education. 4. Increase need-based and targeted aid for post-secondary education. 5. Provide loan counseling. 6. Implement loan forgiveness programs. 7. Modify existing refinancing practices to benefit more borrowers. 8. Create state student debt relief tax credits for borrowers and employers. Many of us can relate to how confusing and misleading the system can be. We must ease the burden for young people to get their footing while pursuing their dreams and future. We must prioritize this issue and take action next session. You can read the full Student Debt Task Force report at LookForwardWI.gov. |
Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2020 09:51 |
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