Demand Student Loan Reform Now!

Politicians in Washington are finally talking about reforming student loans, and it’s time to make sure that they hear our voices on this important issue.

The need for student loan reform was highlighted in this New York Times article earlier in the week.  On Wednesday, Rep. Miller, Chairman of the Education committee, introduced H.R. 3221 and moved us one step closer to creating a sound and fair financial system.

In the current system, the majority of “federal” education loans are actually made by private lenders as part of the Federal Family Education Loan Program.  The government subsidizes these loans and guarantees that the lenders will be repaid, creating a system in which lenders get all the profits and none of the risks.

H.R. 3221 would dismantle this unnecessary system; according to the Congressional Budget Office, it would also save $87 billion over the next ten years.  $40 billion of that would be used to help low-income students with grants, $10 billion would go toward improving early childhood education, and $10 billion to reduce the federal deficit.  It’s an investment in our future in multiple ways.

There are two ways to join AFFIL in support of H.R. 3221: you can either send a letter to Congress through our website, or sign our petition on Change.org.

Write to your representatives today, and tell them that it’s time for the government to start investing in people, not in banks!