Student Loan Payments Set to
Skyrocket July 1st

Dear Fellow Vermonter,

One of the most important goals of a wealthy and democratic society should be the creation of a high-quality educational system — from childcare to graduate school. Unfortunately, as you well know, that is not the case in our country right now.

Sadly, within educational policy, a bad situation is about to become much worse.

Today, some 43 million Americans have student debt, including approximately 76,000 Vermonters. The average debt of federal student loan borrowers is $28,950 and, because of the economic stress faced by working class Americans, over 9 million borrowers are in default — meaning they aren’t able to pay back what they owe.

In my view, Congress and the President should be working to fix this problem. Instead, Trump’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” slashed federal aid to education and eliminated key borrower protections. This will mean less access to affordable repayment plans for existing borrowers and a higher reliance on private loans for new ones.

Sadly, starting July 1, the Trump administration will remove over seven million Americans, including hundreds in Vermont, from the country’s most affordable income-driven student loan repayment plan (known as the SAVE plan). The impact of that decision is that the average college graduate will be forced to pay up to $4,000 more each year on their student loan payments — about $244 a month. 

Anyone currently enrolled in the SAVE plan will need to take immediate steps to enroll in another student loan repayment plan by July 1. After July 1, SAVE borrowers will have limited time in which to switch plans, and will have fewer repayment options.

To read more about the changes coming to student loans and student loan repayment, visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website. If you have questions or need assistance with your loans, please know that my office is here to help. Call 800-339-9834 and a member of my staff will be happy to assist you. If you prefer, you can also fill out this form.

Since the start of the second Trump administration, nearly 700 Vermonters have contacted my office to share their concerns about student loans or get assistance from one of my caseworkers. We are here to help. Please do not hesitate to call.

In order to focus attention on this crisis, as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee that deals with education, I recently held a roundtable with four student loan borrowers, Sarah Bundy from New York, Alex Watts from Ohio, Geraldine Hawkins from Pennsylvania and Jordan Imhoff from Vermont to hear what they had to say.

At 71, Geraldine is retired but still paying off her student loans. For her part, Sarah provides care to individuals with disabilities and has been in and out of default due to high student loan payments. Alex, who works as a nurse, worries that higher student loan payments will make it hard to afford his family’s basic needs. Jordan, who lives in Hyde Park, Vermont is a veteran, husband, and father of two young boys. He is a mental health provider and, like Geraldine, Sarah and Alex, is deeply worried about the changes coming to their student loans.

In my view, in the richest country in the history of the world, people like Jordan, Sarah, Geraldine and Alex should not be saddled with a lifetime of debt or be pushed into default because they can’t afford their payments. We can do better. We must do better.

Sincerely,