Press Releases

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) today applauded the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s decision to enable students and their families to take advantage of new William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program regulations, also known as PLUS Loan regulations, as early as the summer semester.  The new PLUS Loan regulations reverse changes made to the program in 2011, which resulted in more than 17,000 students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) losing loan eligibility.  According to the U.S. Department of Education, the new regulations will help an additional 370,000 students across the country to afford higher education.           

“The unintended consequences of the 2011 changes to the PLUS Loan program were devastating for students from low-income backgrounds and for HBCUs,” Chairman Butterfield said.  “The new PLUS Loan regulations are a step in the right direction and will expand access to loans for students and families who demonstrate need.  I applaud the Education Department’s early implementation decision to ensure students and their families can benefit from these new rules as soon as possible.”

“Since October, 2011, HBCU’s and their students have struggled terribly because of the sudden change in the Department of Education’s Parent PLUS loan guidelines,” said Rep. Corrine Brown (FL-05).  “And for three years, the Congressional Black Caucus, along with the HBCU advocacy community, has fought to correct this administrative injustice.  Although the goal of the Caucus was to return the PLUS Loans rule back to where it was prior to 2011, I am extremely pleased that the Department’s new regulations are being implemented early, and will begin to stem the loss of thousands of students from HBCU’s and colleges across the nation.”

“The early implementation of the new PLUS Loan regulations are something that I and fellow members of the CBC have long called for and I appreciate the Department of Education’s decision. This is a victory for many students who would have been denied an ability to pursue a higher education,” said Rep. Cedric Richmond (LA-02).  “The Administration’s 2011 change to the PLUS loan program served as a barrier to students, and hurt our most vulnerable students and the schools that serve them.  This is a promising step, but we need to continue working to make college more affordable and support our HBCUs so that higher education is an available option to all who seek it.”

PLUS Loans are federal loans for educational expenses available to parents of dependent undergraduate students or graduate students.  The new regulations for PLUS Loans were finalized on August 22, 2014 and will establish a threshold debt amount of $2,085 to determine if a potential borrower has an adverse credit history, define terms such as “in collection” and debt “charged off” to determine credit history, reduce the review period for charge offs and collections from five years to two years, and provide those with adverse credit histories under extenuating circumstances pathways to access PLUS Loans.  Early implementation of the new rules will allow potential borrowers who apply on or after March 30, 2015 to take advantage of those changes.   

www.TheCongressionalBlackCaucus.com

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