Obama to take executive steps on student loans

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2014/06/07/3505958/obama-promotes-college-debt-refinancing.html?sp=/99/171/

Obama to take executive steps on student loans
By JOSH LEDERMAN
Associated Press
June 7, 2014 Updated 7 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is prepping new executive steps to help Americans struggling to pay off their student debt, and throwing his support behind Senate Democratic legislation with a similar goal but potentially a much more profound impact.

Obama on Monday will announce he's expanding his "Pay As You Earn" program that lets borrowers pay no more than 10 percent of their monthly income in loan payments, the White House said. Currently, the program is only available to those who started borrowing after October 2007 and kept borrowing after October 2011. Obama plans to start allowing those who borrowed earlier to participate, potentially extending the benefit to millions more borrowers.

"At a time when college has never been more important, it's also never been more expensive," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address released Saturday.

Obama also plans to announce he's directing the government to renegotiate contracts with federal student loan servicers to encourage them to make it easier for borrowers to avoid defaulting on their loans. And he will ask the Treasury and Education departments to work with major tax preparers, including H&R Block and the makers of TurboTax, to increase awareness about tuition tax credits and flexible repayment options available to borrowers.

[Ed Suspicious]

1. This is good. Won't have an effect on me as I'm within the current borrowing paradigm, but it will

be good for society. It doesn't go far enough, but it's a step in the right direction and is in line with the reasons I voted for the president. He does a lot of stuff that raise my hackles, but this is not one. Thanks for the nod to the war against poverty, President Obama.

[AllyCat]

2. A start, but

I was hoping for some actual forgiveness it should not cost students thus much to get an education.