WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the United States Senate passed an amendment offered by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) that would allow for the simplification of income-driven student loan repayment options. The amendment, which passed by voice vote during the Senate’s consideration of the budget, is similar to The Repay Act, which Senators King and Burr reintroduced earlier this year.

“Right now the student loan repayment system is a mess. There are so many alternatives that they confuse students, making the process far more complicated and far more difficult than it has to be,” Senator King said. “Our amendment adopts suggestions from individuals, students, institutions, as well as the President, to simplify the loan repayment provision to two options: a fixed repayment over ten years or an income-based repayment over a longer time. I believe it is an overdue simplification of this process, and I believe it will contribute to dealing with this issue in a more constructive way for the students of America.”

Earlier this year, Senators King and Burr reintroduced the Repay Act, which would simplify the complex maze of federal student loan repayment programs  by consolidating many of the benefits of current repayment programs into two plans: a fixed repayment plan, based on a 10-year period, and a single, simplified income-driven repayment option.

In essence, the amendment approved today would preserve space within the budget for future legislation like the Repay Act. The amendment’s passage also indicates strong support for the underlying legislation, which Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee), the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, has said he intends to bring before the Committee later this year.

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