DeLauro Applauds Drop in Student Loan Delinquency Rates, Increased Participation in Income-Driven Repayment Plans

NEW HAVEN, CT—Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement today applauding the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement that student loan delinquency rates have decreased in the past year. She also applauded the 56 percent increase in Income-Driven Repayment plans. DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the subcommittee responsible for funding the Education Department.

“Ensuring young Americans who are getting their start in life are not weighed down by crippling student loan debt will help our nation’s position as a world power for generations to come. Decades ago President Lyndon Johnson said that ‘education is the only valid passport out of poverty.’ That is undeniably true today. College graduates are less likely to find themselves unemployed. They earn, on average, 80 percent more than their peers without college degrees.

“But too many students are unable to earn a college degree because of outrageous costs. We have to do better by our young people and today’s news is a good first step down that path.”

The proportion of Direct Loan borrowers who are more than 31 days late in their repayments fell from 23 percent on June 30 of last year to 21 percent now. The total dollar balance of Direct Loans delinquent for more than 31 days fell from 17.2 percent to 15.9 percent. The proportion of delinquent Department-held Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) borrowers declined from 24.2 percent to 21.8 percent.

Nearly 3.9 million Direct Loan borrowers had enrolled in Income-Driven Repayment plans, which helps borrowers manage their federal student loan debt by reducing monthly payments based on their income, as of June 30. That is a 56 percent increase from June 2014. More information on Income-Driven Repayment plans can be found at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/understand/plans/income-driven.


###