Lowering the Cost of College

For folks around the country, education is a way to build a successful career and a better life. Yet, with skyrocketing tuition costs and predatory student loans, a college education can result in more debt than success.

In Congress, we will introduce legislation to (1) institute a $5,000 cap on annual tuition for four-year public colleges and universities and (2) cap interest rates on private tuition loans at 7%. Our plan will protect students from starting adult life with enormous debt that prevents them from saving for a home, starting a family, or fulfilling their life goals.

Proposals in Congress have failed to take the issue seriously, ignoring the root cause of the problem: exorbitant and exploitative tuition costs.

Higher education should be accessible to all Americans. In New Jersey, roughly 1.2 million borrowers are burdened by an average $37,486 in federal student loan debt. We need to provide Americans with better, more affordable options for pursuing their education goals, and we cannot allow public colleges and universities — taxpayer-funded institutions — to trap citizens in vicious cycles of debt.

Instituting a $5,000 cap on annual tuition for four-year public colleges and universities will make public institutions of higher education more financially accessible and protect students from having to take out private loans. Lower tuition costs would also allow lower-income students, who rely on student loans, to graduate with, on average, 66% lower student loan debt. 

By supplementing its existing funding for public colleges and universities, the federal government can do more to ensure that America’s youth avoid the burden of massive student loan debt. We will work to ensure that public colleges and universities carry out the public service they are funded to provide. 

We will fight for legislation that eases the burden on students who rely on private loans to finance their college education, by capping interest rates at 7% and freezing interest accrual during education. This measure would protect the 15% of New Jerseyans who graduated with private student loan debt from exorbitant interest rates.

We will also work to expand gainful employment provisions that tie federal funding to the success of graduates, to ensure that colleges and universities — public and private — use taxpayer dollars in a responsible and effective manner. Requiring colleges and universities to share average student borrowing, average student loan debt, and average income for alumni one, five, and ten years after graduation, alongside tuition and fees would allow students to make informed decisions about their education.