Target: Tim Walberg, Chair of U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce
Goal: Expand number of Americans who qualify for student financial aid.
As economic stressors continue to take their toll on Americans, the price of education is skyrocketing as well. Rather than easing this burden and making higher education more affordable, however, prominent politicians are instead piling on more stress and financial uncertainty. The Trump administration has long targeted the increasing number of students who have defaulted on their debts due to the aforementioned stressors. They have also severely limited affordable loan repayment options in favor of promoting a new system that experts in the field warn will lead to much higher overall loan repayment costs. Now, the administration’s Department of Education wants to hobble students’ prospects before they ever even enter college.
The so-called Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) sets very restrictive parameters on which undergraduate majors and career trajectories will qualify for federal loans. These programs must meet a certain career income threshold, or else students will be excluded from obtaining the money they need to fund their futures. Students preparing for careers in civil service, social service, and the arts are among the individuals expected to be most severely impacted. Advanced graduate programs – where students were once able to cover all of their expenses through loans – have likewise been marked for significant loan restrictions. At one point after the overhaul, only 11 fields of study were available for major lending options. Following political pressure, that number expanded to 29, but important fields like education and social work remain excluded.
Sign the petition below to demand a rollback of this damaging rollback that impacts millions of students and their futures.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Representative Walberg,
The abrupt end of graduation-level PLUS loans and the rocky rollout of the Student Tuition and Transparency System are the latest evidence of an educational gutting that no longer works for students, but rather against them. The slashing of half of the Department of Education’s work force – including nearly all of its student aid support – should have been a warning signal. This is the result: teachers, social workers, healthcare aides, and so many more civil servants that may very well no longer have the financial means to pursue their dreams and become part of the American dream.
Congress has the power to fix these injustices and to begin restoring affordability for students taking the next important steps in their journeys. Fix what you helped break. Resume and broaden federal student aid funding and open up a world of possibilities for the future U.S. workforce.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Pavel Danilyuk
