Sec. 2. Findings; Purpose

273 words·~1 min read·/bill/113/hr/3959/ih/section-2

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Congress finds the following: Postsecondary education has expanded opportunities for people in the United States to qualify for high-quality jobs and entry into the middle class, providing clear benefits to the Nation’s economy. Public investment by the States in higher education has decreased significantly, especially in the past 5 years before the date of enactment of this Act, as a result of the 2008 fiscal collapse. With college costs rising beyond the reach of many people in the United States, financial aid programs are inadequate to reach all students with financial need.

The increasing unaffordability of a college education has forced students to borrow more money to pay for higher education, causing two-thirds of college seniors to graduate with an average student debt of $26,600. High levels of student debt are damaging not only to the individual student’s ability to succeed financially but also will have grave consequences for the future economy of the United States. Congress must halt the decrease in State support for education and, over time, must catalyze increases in State funding for higher education.

There is a need to encourage a new approach to financing the students’ share of the cost of higher education that will not result in graduates who are overburdened with student debt. The Pay It Forward model presents a new opportunity for financing and expanding higher education, through the replacement of tuition and mandatory fees with a post-graduation contribution program that establishes the funding for access to higher education for the next generational cohort of students.

The purpose of this Act is to test and encourage the development of Pay It Forward model financing programs.