According to Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a member of the US HouseEducation and Labor Committee, the average American carries up to $30,000 in student debt.
Therefore, Congresswoman Haley Stevens introduced a new bill called "Alleviating Intergenerational Debt - AID" to expand financial aid opportunities for students whose relatives have not yet paid off their student loans.
The new bill stipulates that only student families with one parent earning less than $75,000 or both parents earning less than $150,000 combined will be eligible for this subsidy.
According to Stevens, federal student debt is about $1.63 trillion, with much of it concentrated among Gen Xers.
The Masons of Michigan are a typical example of the difficult situation caused by student debt. "I currently owe over $100,000 in tuition, but we are also paying about $30,000 for our daughter to attend Michigan State University and another $20,000 for our son to enroll at Eastern Michigan University in October," Isaiah Mason said.
Mason, who works at an auto plant and earns a low income, knows he will be pressured to pay for his children’s college tuition and living expenses. But he is determined not to let his children suffer the consequences of student debt that he did.
“I hope that when the new bill is enacted, there will be some financial solutions soon to help us and many households in similar situations,” Mason hopes.
The draft would be amended to create a new income-matching grant for parents who have not yet paid off their student loans. The amount could include unemployment benefits and social assistance depending on the actual situation of the household.
The bill has received widespread support from education policymakers. The rising cost of college has made it difficult for students and families to make the decision to attend college, as they weigh the economic benefits of a college education against the burden of long-term student debt.
“We welcome the introduction of the AID bill to support low-income families and reduce the pressure on students and their parents, while facilitating access to higher education,” said Fewins-Bliss, executive director of the University of Michigan Access Network.
(Source: Vietnamnet/Michigan Advance)
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