The cost of college and student loans were once again front and center in Washington, with Republicans and Democrats voicing differing perspectives on how best to address the issues.  The debate took place during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to discuss the Biden Administration’s recent student loan policies. 

During the hearing Subcommittee Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT) stated that he believes the Biden Administration is pushing a backdoor, free-college agenda that is “a patchwork attempt to fix a structural problem that will only make worse the issues of rising prices and low-quality educations—it is one that leaves students worse than if they had never enrolled in the first place.” His Republican colleagues echoed similar sentiments throughout the hearing and reiterated that the Administration’s approach does not solve the overriding debt issue. 

Subcommitee Ranking Member Frederica Wilson (D-FL) and her Democratic colleagues sent a different message. In her opening statement, Wilson said there are borrowers in their 60s and 70s who have yet to pay off their student loans, leading to delays in their ability to pay off other important debts. Democrats made it clear that the steps the Administration has taken to help student loan borrowers are needed and necessary. She also introduced the Lowering Obstacles to Achievement Now (LOAN) Act to double the maximum Pell Grant award to help students better afford their postsecondary education. 

The witnesses consisted of representatives from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, University of Utah, The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), and an economist. All witnesses said college costs were high and a solution was needed to increase affordability, however, they did not agree on the solution.  

Witnesses invited by Republicans were concerned that the new income-driven repayment plan proposed by the Administration and the student loan debt forgiveness proposal would not solve the issue of overborrowing for college. On the other hand, TICAS President Sameer Gadkaree, who was invited by the Democrats, touted the importance of providing debt relief as a way to help “low- and moderate-income families via its one-time debt relief program, seeking to address the striking growth in college costs, the vulnerable students who accrued some college debt but do not have a degree, and the unique economic challenges of the pandemic.”