Merkley and Alsobrooks: Senate Republicans Vote to Allow Federal Student Loan Costs to Soar

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Maryland's U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks slammed Senate Republicans for voting to allow the Trump Administration to cap federal student loans and overhaul the student loan system, driving up costs for students across the nation:

"As the first in my family to go to college, I know we need to do all we can to ensure education is not a privilege for the wealthy. But today, Senate Republicans chose to rubber-stamp the Trump Administration's overhaul of federal student loans, meaning higher payments for students and fewer nurses, teachers, and other critical public servants," said Merkley.

"The Trump Administration and Republicans are once again actively targeting the public servants who make up the bedrock of our communities - nurses, teachers, and social workers - by taking away their opportunities to access affordable student loans and forcing them into the clutches of private lenders. This new rule creates a deep inequity that will exacerbate nursing and educator shortages and is an insult to the hard working professionals that sacrifice every day to serve others," said Alsobrooks.

Senate Republicans blocked Merkley's Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to repeal the Trump Administration's final rule on federal student loans. Merkley led the resolution with Alsobrooks in the Senate, and U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), and John Mannion (NY-20) led its introduction in the House of Representatives.

Full text of Merkley's resolution is available by clicking here. It is supported by nearly 200 organizations, which can be found by clicking here.

Previously, Merkley introduced the bipartisan Nursing is a Professional Degree Act to overturn new limits on federal student loans for nurses. He also wrote the Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment (SOAR) Act to better protect borrowers from unaffordable payments and runaway balances due to rapidly accruing interest, while offering a clearer path to debt relief after at least a decade of payments.

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