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Dearborn, MI – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) today hosted a roundtable discussion with students and administrators from University of Michigan-Dearborn and Henry Ford College on student loans and college affordability. Dingell heard from undergraduate and graduate students about the challenges they face financing their educations, and discussed efforts at the federal level to ease the student loan burden and make college more affordable.

“A college degree is a stepping stone to a brighter future for many Americans, but today, millions of graduates are entering the workforce burdened with tens of thousands of dollars of debt,” said Dingell. “College graduates across the country are putting their futures on hold as they struggle to pay off their student loans.”

Skyrocketing tuitions have left nearly 40 million Americans working to repay $1.3 trillion in student loans, including 1.5 million Michigan residents who owe more than $39 billion. Yet current law prevents hardworking, responsible borrowers from refinancing their student loans to today’s low rates, such as those available for home and auto loans. As a result, graduates with outstanding student debt are often stuck with interest rates at 7% or higher.

Dingell is a cosponsor of the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, which would save students and families thousands of dollars by allowing federal and private student loan borrowers to refinance their loans to the same low rates offered to new borrowers in the 2013-2014 school year. More than 960,000 borrowers in Michigan would benefit from being able to refinance their student loans. 

“You can refinance your home loan, your car loan and your small business loan. But you can’t refinance your federal student loan,” said Dingell. “That’s just plain wrong. Our bill fixes that problem – saving families thousands of dollars on their loans.”

Dingell was joined at the roundtable by Angela Acosta, Assistant Director of Financial Aid at UM-Dearborn; Kevin Culler, Director of Financial Aid at Henry Ford College; Mike Latvis, Government Relations Manager at UM-Dearborn; Ray Metz, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Student Life (interim) at UM-Dearborn; and local students.

"Today's visit to University of Michigan-Dearborn by Congresswoman Dingell to discuss college affordability provided our students with the opportunity to explain, first hand, the challenges they face while working towards completing their education. It was a great opportunity for the students to hear all of the work that she is doing to relieve some of the debt they face," said Metz. "University of Michigan-Dearborn is committed to providing a high-quality education that is accessible and affordable to all qualified candidates. We recognize that the responsibility of maintaining this commitment lies with the federal and state governments as well as each educational institution. If passed, the restructuring and refinancing of student loans will go a long way in easing some of the burden our students shoulder after graduation."

“The roundtable discussion allowed myself and fellow students to voice our concerns regarding the current affordability of higher education,” said Phillip Voydanoff, an undergraduate student at UM-Dearborn. “From discussions revolving around Federal Pell Grants to current loan interest rates, it was a great opportunity to have a direct conversation with the Congresswoman. I was delighted to see her proposed bill would assist students with refinancing student loans taken out any number of years ago.”

“After college, I delayed plans to go back to graduate school for years while I saved up enough money,” said Josh Slaviero, a graduate student at UM-Dearborn. “I didn’t want to take on crushing debt, but as a result, I had to put my life on hold and wait to start my career and buy a home of my own. Congresswoman Dingell’s proposals to help students refinance their loans and make college more affordable could make a difference for people who are waiting to start their lives.”

Total student loan debt – which nearly quadrupled between 2003 and 2013 – has now eclipsed credit card debt as the second largest form of consumer debt, behind mortgages. The average student owes nearly $30,000.

Congresswoman Dingell is also a cosponsor of the American Opportunity Tax Credit Act of 2015, which helps ease the cost of attending college by making permanent a tax credit for qualifying secondary education expenses, such as books and computers. The bill also increases the current tax credit from $2,500 to $3,000 per year.