Statement From Representative Adriano Espaillat on the Biden Administration's Student Loan Proposal

WASHINGTON, DC – Today Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) issued the following statement in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s proposal to provide affordable monthly student loan payments.

“Yesterday, the Department of Education released a proposed regulation that delivers on the plan President Biden announced in August to provide millions of borrowers with more affordable monthly student loan payments,” said Rep. Espaillat. “The proposed changes to income-driven repayment plans would: allow $0 monthly payments to anyone who makes under roughly $30,600 a year; cut payments for undergraduate borrowers in half; stop charging any monthly interest that is not covered by a borrower’s payment, ensuring that a borrower’s balance doesn’t grow if they are making their monthly payment; and, shorten the time it takes for low-balance borrowers to get their student loan debt forgiven.

“The result of yesterday's proposal would be the most affordable student loan repayment plan ever and this announcement is one of a series of actions the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to lower costs for working and middle class families, including lowering health care, energy, and prescription drug costs for millions of Americans. Delivering unprecedented relief to borrowers and giving working families more breathing room, this is putting #PeopleOverPolitics and taking steps in the right direction to increase accountability over colleges to make sure they are delivering value and results for students and borrowers around our nation.”

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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov