Bipartisan Bill Takes On Student Debt

(Forbes) During my time on Capitol Hill higher education policy was rarely a headline-grabbing topic. The nuances of federal financial aid or student debt were issues to debate on K Street rarely Main Street. But the specter of up-credentialing a looming debt crisis and unprecedented demographic shifts have thrust higher education to the forefront of the national discourse with Democratic presidential hopefuls and the Trump Administration alike staking out partisan positions on topics ranging from free college to Second Chance Pell. Sadly like so many issues there is bipartisan consensus about the urgency to reduce college costs but precious little agreement about what needs to be done to make it happen. Against that backdrop it should be heartening to see the seeds of a common sense bipartisan (and dare I say moderate) proposal taking shape in Congress. This week a bipartisan coalition that includes one-time presidential hopefuls Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the ISA Student Protection Act designed to provide consumer protection and financial guardrails for students willing to commit a fixed percentage of their future earnings in exchange for education funding. Their proposal also joined by co-sponsors Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Chris Coons (D-DE) represents the first bill with bipartisan support in the Senate to create a legal and regulatory framework for Income Share Agreements (ISAs).