U.S. Rep. Susie Lee campaigned as an education advocate on the way to winning office in 2018.
Since taking office in January, one of her main focuses has been student debt and how it is holding back America’s younger generation.
“To me, this is a terrible crisis,” Lee, a Democrat representing Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, said recently on "Nevada Newsmakers."
Americans owe more than $1.56 trillion in student loan debt, spread out among about 45 million borrowers, according to research by savingforcollege.com. That is about $521 billion more than total U.S. credit card debt.
Data show almost 70 percent of the class of 2018 have college student-loan debt, with an average per-student debt of almost $29,000.
“There is some serious work that needs to be done,” Lee told host Sam Shad.
Lee, a member of the House Education Committee, talked about pending legislation, including a bill she cosponsored to help protect students from predatory lending practices.
“I’ve introduced several bills to deal with student debt,” she said. “And it is not repaying everyone’s student debt. It is basically setting in the guardrails so that students defrauded by a for-profit school that closes, they have a way to get their debt repaid. It is bringing down the cost of interest rates.”
Lee said she is also preparing to introduce legislation that would extend federal Pell grants to students at two-year colleges.
“I think we are taking on and understanding that a four-year university is not the only path to getting a skill that is going to turn into a great career,” she said.