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GWEN IFILL (NewsHour): Student debt in America has more than tripled in just the past decade, and experts say too much debt can put a crimp on graduates’ futures. It’s an issue that Democrats, particularly the president, have targeted for new remedies. It was the focus of his latest executive action today.
It’s the season for pomp and circumstance, triumphant graduations, cap-tossing, and a reminder that, although college may be over, the bills are just now coming due.
The average student who graduated last year had nearly $30,000 in student loan debt. Today, in the White House East Room, President Obama signed an executive order that would allow borrowers who took out federal loans prior to 2007 to tie their repayments to their incomes.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Let’s be honest. Families at the top, they can easily save more than enough money to pay for school out of pocket.
Families at the bottom face a lot of obstacles, but they can turn to programs designed to help them handle costs, but you have got a lot of middle-class families who can’t build up enough savings, don’t qualify for support, feel like nobody is looking out for them.
GWEN IFILL: The program would expand on 2010 law that capped federal loan repayments at 10 percent of their monthly income, while allowing low-income borrowers to have their loans forgiven after 20 or 25 years of on-time payments.
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