(NBC News) The White House has announced a new initiative aimed at tackling the growing student debt crisis.
A recent Government Accountability Office report found that by the end of March nearly eight million Americans had failed to make a monthly payment on their student loans.
Student loan debt has nearly tripled to more than a trillion dollars in the last decade, causing a domino effect on life after graduation.
“It’s having an effect on our entire economy and the way we live our lives because we’re overwhelmed with this debt right out of school,” explains Kelley Long of the American Institute of CPA’s.
The Student Aid Bill of Rights, signed by President Obama a year ago, let’s students pay less while they earn less and more as they earn more, but the GAO report found 70-percent of those in default qualify for it, but don’t know about it.
The White House announced Thursday it’s putting pressure on firms that service student loans and getting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau involved with the “Payback Playbook” that borrowers can access. Loan services will also be required to include it in monthly bills.
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