June 26, 2007
Support Loan Forgiveness for Social Workers in the Higher Education Act!!
Background
Congress is currently considering two important legislative proposals that would make it easier for students to afford a college education, thereby directly assisting the social work workforce through loan forgiveness and other incentives.
The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H R. 2669), introduced by Representative George Miller (D-CA), provides sweeping reforms of the student loan industry. It also reauthorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965, which provides assistance to thousands of students, from 2007 to 2013. Specifically, one measure would grant up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness to people who work in an area of “national need”, including child welfare workers, early childhood educators, nurses, librarians, and other professionals.
For a child welfare worker to be eligible for loan forgiveness, he or she must have a degree in social work or another related field specializing in serving children and families and must be employed in private or public child welfare services.
In addition to loan forgiveness, the bill cuts interest rates in half on subsidized student loans over the next five years, makes student loan payments more manageable for borrowers by guaranteeing that borrowers will not have to pay more than 15 percent of their discretionary income in loan repayments, and allows borrowers to have their loans forgiven after 20 years. The legislation also increases the maximum Pell Grant scholarship by at least $500 over the next five years. When combined with other Pell Grant scholarship increases passed or proposed by Congress this year, the maximum Pell Grant would reach $4,900 by 2008 and $5,200 by 2011, up from $4,050 in 2006. Finally, Pell Grant eligibility would be expanded to include and serve more students with financial need.
Another bill, the Education for Public Service Act of 2007 (H R. 2661) introduced by Representative John Sarbanes (D-MD), forgives the balance of a loan for a person who participates in the Income Contingent Repayment Plan and is employed in a “public sector job” (federal, state, or local government agency or non-profit) after paying 120 monthly payments or over 10 years.
This proposed legislation also aims to eliminate the marriage penalty faced by married persons who are participating in the Income Contingent Repayment Plan. Under current law, 100% of the adjusted gross income (AGI) of both spouses is used to calculate the amount of payment. With this legislation, the calculation would be calculated using half of the spouse’s AGI, thereby reducing the amount of payment and making more people eligible for this program.
The Senate has recently introduced legislation in the area of Higher Education reform, but the details of the plan are not yet available. The Senate should reveal those details soon, and we will keep you apprised of the situation.
This legislation is crucial for all college students, but especially for social workers who are among the least paid professionals; almost 45% of social workers make under $40,000 annually. In addition, the average social worker has between $25,000 and $33,000 in debt, depending on whether they earned a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate degree.
Action Needed
Please call your Representatives at 202-224-3121 and urge them to support H. R. 2661, The Education for Public Service Act of 2007, and H. R. 2669, The College Cost Reduction Act of 2007. Let your Congressperson know that you are a constituent and social worker requesting their support for loan forgiveness provisions for social workers in these bills. |
