(The Center Square) – Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon is backing a bill that he thinks will help make paying back student loan debt easier.
Bacon will co-sponsor H.R. 4144, the Federal Assistance to Initiate Repayment (FAIR) Act. U.S. Representatives Burgess Owens, R-Utah, Lisa McClain, R-Utah, and Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, introduced the bill.
Bacon’s office bills the FAIR Act as a Republican solution to the student loan system. It says the bill would “simplify the repayment process, end ballooning loan balances, provide repayment assistance, and provide targeted student loan relief.
“The bill’s income-based repayment plan would only require borrowers to pay back ten years’ worth of interest; if it takes the borrower longer to pay back the loan, the interest will stop increasing, according to Forbes.
Additionally, the plan forgives unpaid interest for those earning below 300 percent of the federal poverty level if they are enrolled in an income-based repayment plan and complete the payment schedule, among other provisions.
“This fiscally responsible alternative to President Biden’s plan will be a critical step towards fixing our student loan system and will provide a path for 40 million borrowers to pay back their loans,” Bacon said.
“I do not support forcing the 83% (or four out of five Americans) of Americans who don’t have student loan debt from carrying the burden of those who do.”
“However, we can work to help those borrowers pay back their loans as they indicated they would when signing the documents,” Bacon added.
“We can look at making interest rates more competitive and building payment plans for those who have fallen behind. I also think we can promote alternatives to four-year degrees such as trade schools or earning free college by serving in our all-volunteer military. I earned two degrees during my 3 decades in the Air Force.”
