U.S. Representative Joe Courtney, D-CT2, is warning that a bill being considered in Congress would make it more difficult for Americans to afford college. The Republican-backed PROSPER Act would end federally subsidized student loans. It was approved by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last week.
Courtney told reporters in Hartford that the bill passed on a party-line vote in committee. He said the Democrats voted against it because it would make college out of reach for most Americans.
“What the PROSPER Act does is actually close avenues of affordability for millions of Americans across the country and radically changes programs that really have been part of the fabric of higher education going back to the 1950s.”
Courtney says those programs include the subsidized Stafford Loans and loan forgiveness programs.
The Congressman was joined by students from the University of Connecticut, including Walter Dodson, who complained the bill will make students vulnerable to the private loan industry.
“It will cap borrowing and force people to use private loans and stop holding schools accountable to default rates.”
Courtney says the bill is expected to be voted on by the House early next year.
