2024 House Resolution 288

Whereas, The William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, is the U.S. Department of Education’s federal student loan program. The program provides Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Direct Consolidation Loans to eligible borrowers; and

Whereas, Despite having been established to make higher education an attainable reality for all Americans, the federal student loans program has instead facilitated a new array of problems, including a precipitous rise in tuition costs, making higher education more expensive and unaffordable for many Americans; and

Whereas, The loans have also contributed to a student loan debt crisis in the United States, with about 43 million borrowers holding over 1.7 trillion dollars in federal student loan debt alone. The average amount owed is over 37,000 dollars per borrower. Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category behind mortgage debt; and

Whereas, The massive amount of student loan debt is a burden on the entire economy. Because of this debt, many Americans are struggling to become homeowners, save for retirement, and contribute to the economy in other ways; and

Whereas, Mandatory repayment of federal student loans resumed in October 2023 after the end of the U.S. Department of Education’s temporary pause of such payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to October 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that over five million people faced serious financial risk once payments resumed. Borrowers who face difficulty paying their debt face delinquency and default; and

Whereas, If borrowers can no longer be expected to pay their student loan debt, the federal government must stop issuing it. Additionally, discontinuing the issuance of federal student loans could prevent economic crises in the future; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge Congress to repeal the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.