U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., introduced a bill in La Crosse Wednesday to funnel any profit made from federal loan programs back to Wisconsin students and families by directing those profits into federal Pell Grants.
Pell Grants are federal subsidies used to help students with financial need afford a higher education. In the next 10 years, the federal government will make $73 billion in profit from the loan program, according to Kind.
In Wisconsin, an average graduate finishes school with over $28,000 in debt.
Kind’s Promoting Education for Lifetime Learning Grant Funding Act is aimed at stopping the government from profiting off students working to pay their student loans. Kind wants the grant to remain available to help Wisconsin residents and U.S. citizens afford the expensive price tag on higher education.
“The government shouldn’t be making a profit from federal student loan payments, it should be reinvesting that money to make higher education more affordable for those who need financial help,” Kind said. “Steering that money into federal Pell Grant programs helps more Wisconsin families afford college, which is one of the smartest long-term economic investments we can make.”
