President Barack Obama is looking to make it easier for students to pay back the federal loans they take out to pay for college. Earlier this week, the president signed a presidential memorandum that will direct federal agencies to overhaul and improve the way Americans pay back their debts.
This move is the latest in a series of steps that the Obama has taken in recent months to improve the accessibility and affordability of college. These necessary actions come at a time when student loan debt is rapidly growing, as it is now worth more than $1.3 trillion dollars across the entire country.
The average student leaves college with debt of nearly $30,000. Under the new federal direction of the Obama administration, student loan payments would be capped at 10 percent of a person's annual income over a period of 20 years. Obama unveiled his plan Tuesday night at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
"Every borrower has the right to an affordable repayment plan," the president said during his remarks. "Every borrower has the right to quality customer service, reliable information, and fair treatment, even if they struggle to repay their loans."
The new presidential memorandum is known as the "Student Bill of Rights," and it calls on the U.S. Department of Education to create a new website by July 2016 that will give borrowers a place where they can file complaints and provide necessary feedback about federal lenders, services and collection agencies.
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