Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) has a plan to solve one of student debt's most pressing issues.
In conjunction with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Rubio has introduced a bipartisan bill into the Senate to help solve America's student loan crisis. The Dynamic Repayment Act would ensure students face reasonable monthly payments and eliminate most defaults.
The bill would enroll all federal loan borrowers into a program where they paid 10 percent of earnings each month toward student loan repayment, with a $10,000 annual exemption. The U.S. government would take the money directly from workers' paychecks. Borrowers would also have the option to opt out and prepay their loans without penalty, if they preferred.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Additionally, the bill would forgive up to $57,500 of loans after 20 years, and loans greater than that amount would be forgiven after 30 years.
"Our current loan repayment system often turns what should be reasonable debts into crippling payments," Rubio and Warner told Bloomberg News. "Some graduates find they are forced to work multiple jobs, often in fields they didn't train for, simply to avoid defaulting on student loans... No one should be forced to go broke because they choose to go to college."
By wading into the student loan issue, which has recently been a Democratic concern, Rubio may gain favor with younger voters, a crucial target base for the GOP.
