Maine Lawmakers Are Considering A Measure To Ease Student Debt

Maine lawmakers are considering a measure that would ask voters to approve a $250 million bond issue to ease student debt.

The proposal would use the borrowed money to forgive loans of up to $10,000 for graduates who stay and work in Maine for five years.

Sen. Nate Libby, a Lewiston Democrat, made a case for his bill at a public hearing before the legislature’s Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business Committee.

“The average student loan debt for recent graduates in Maine is nearly $30,000,” says Libby. “That is the fifteenth-highest rate in the nation. About ten percent of student loan borrowers in Maine are defaulting on their loans. The borrowers who are staying on track to pay their loans are doing so by not fully-participating in the economy.”

Read more: https://www.mainepublic.org/post/maine-lawmakers-are-considering-measure-ease-student-debt