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RESOLUTION URGING THE U.S. CONGRESS AND THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO DIRECTLY SUPPORT THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY BY REDUCING THE BURDEN OF CURRENT STUDENT LOAN DEBT

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WHEREAS, recent college graduates are often entering an economy with reduced job opportunities and jobs with lower starting pay in comparison to decades before; and
WHEREAS, due to the significantly increased cost of obtaining higher education and resulting higher debt obligations, many new college graduates are left with student debt which exceeds their ability to pay; and
WHEREAS, according to a study released in May 2011 by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, recent college graduates entered the working world with a median student debt of $20,000, but compounding this burden, only 56 percent of 2010 graduates were able to find work following completion of their studies; and
WHEREAS, this Rutgers study also revealed that the median starting salary of students graduating in 2009 and 2010 was 10 percent lower than the salary received by those who entered the workforce in 2006 and 2007; and
WHEREAS, the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program is one of several loan programs the federal government offers to students attending college or career schools; the Direct Loan Program requires students to begin making loan payments with interest six months after they drop below half-time enrollment in an eligible program, and if they do not make payments, students risk losing repayment incentives or going into default; and
WHEREAS, new data released in September of 2011 by the U.S. Department of Education shows a sharp increase in the rate at which student loan borrowers are defaulting; the official "two-year cohort default rates" show that 8.8 percent of student loan borrowers who entered repayment in 2009 had defaulted by the end of 2010, up from 7 percent for those entering repayment in 2008; and
WHEREAS, the federal government has taken some steps to assist graduates by expanding flexible loan repayment options for borrowers through the income-based repayment plan (IBR), making loan payments more affordable by capping the monthly payment at an amount based on income and family size; and
WHEREAS, House Resolution 365, currently pending in the House Education and the Workforce Committee, expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) reducing the rate of personal debt is as vital to our economic health as addressing the federal debt and debt limit; and (2) Congress should cut our true debt burden by reducing home mortgage balances, forgiving student loans, and bringing down overall personal debt, and declares that helping U.S. citizens become free of debt to promote personal financial security and to strengthen the nation's economy should be a top priority of the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, forgiving student loan debt and reducing interest rates could have a stimulating effect on the economy, providing borrowers additional dollars per month to spend, thus fueling the economy,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Education to directly support the economic recovery by reducing outstanding student loan debt, such as the William D. Ford Federal Direct loan program debt, by a minimum of 50 percent or by significantly lowering current student loan interest amounts enough to make a meaningful reduction in monthly individual student loan payments, or both.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the members of the Florida Congressional Delegation and the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Section 3. Directs the County�s federal lobbyists to advocate for the legislation set forth in Section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2012 Federal Legislative Package.