Guide to Education Grants

Another Student Loan Resource:
According to a Feb. 8, 2007 article briefing titled “Clinton Reintroduces Student Borrower Bill of Rights” that appeared in the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs Inc.’s Daily Briefing, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, reintroduced the Student Borrower Bill of Rights on Feb. 7, which is “legislation that proposes to provide student borrowers with ‘basic rights to ensure that loan payments are affordable, to allow
student a free marketplace and to give students timely information about their loans.’”
 
The briefing quoted Clinton as saying, “There are too many students in New York State and across the country that are overly burdened with loan payments or treated unfairly as they repay student loans. This bill makes it easier for students to repay their loans by putting in place a basic set of rights, including the right to borrow without exploitation and the right to real loan choices.”
 
Bill Initially Introduced in May 2006
 
The briefing went on to summarize the provision of the reintroduced bill as follows:
 

“Require loan participants to report loan information to each national credit bureau;
Direct the Secretary, beginning one year after a student ceases to be half time student, to limit total monthly payments on Federal student loans to the sum of 10% of the borrower’s monthly adjusted gross income for the previous year which is between 100% and 200% of the poverty line and 20% of monthly adjusted gross income above 200% of the poverty line;
Direct the Secretary to set the monthly payment limit for each borrower based on information provided by the borrower;
Direct the Secretary to conduct a study of interest rates and fees charged on private student loans;
Cap the collection fee on defaulted Federal student loans to the lesser of expenses incurred or 7.5% (for loans collected through consolidation), 13.5% (for loans rehabilitated), and 18% (for other collections);
Direct the Secretary to set a cap on the maximum total amount that can be charged a borrower on a Federal student loan, including interest and fees, as a percentage of the original loan balance; and
Require certain schools to publish job placement information.”
Provisions Enacted by the 109th Congress
 
There were two provisions in the original bill that were introduced in May ’06 that the 109th Congress did enact, according to the briefing, “These provisions enabled borrowers to choose lenders with acceptable income-sensitive repayment terms when consolidating student loans.”
 
It is important to keep up to date on the effects of legislation and news on student loans and education. What goes on in government and in your state can have a great impact on your student loans and your college education.
 
Be sure to tune in next Wednesday for my next blog on student loan legislation in the news.
 
For all the information you need about student loans, go to www.nextstudent.com.
  
Student Loan Girl
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 20th, 2007 at 12:42 pm and is filed under Student Loans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.