WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, comprehensive legislation to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In addition to overhauling the controversial testing and accountability provisions of NCLB, the bill includes increased resources for
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education finalized a new rule making all Americans who take out student loans directly from the federal government eligible for income-based repayment that will cap monthly payments at 10% of their discretionary income. The
WASHINGTON – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today introduced legislation to make college more affordable for students and families in Oregon and across the country. The PARTNERSHIPS Act would encourage states to hold down college tuition costs by creating a program that provides federal matching funds for
Sen. Jeff Merkley visited Oregon State University on Tuesday morning for a listening session on the high cost of higher education and found an audience that was all too familiar with the problem. When he asked the two dozen or so students gathered in a classroom for the informal discussion
EUGENE, Ore. – Students from both the University of Oregon and Lane Community College joined Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley for a “listening session” on Monday at the University of Oregon. Jazzmen Vega-Heath and Ashley Jackson, who are student leaders at LCC, as well as mothers, weighed in on
With the rising cost of higher education and crushing student loan debt in the headlines, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley wants to make permanent a program that ties student loan payments to just 10 percent of their discretionary income. After 20 years, any remaining debt would be forgiven. Merkley (D-Oregon) introduced
SPRINGFIELD, ORE. – Today, Senator Jeff Merkley announced a $2 million public-private partnership that will support youth development and school readiness for Lane County children entering kindergarten. United Way of Lane County (UWLC) has been awarded a five-year Social Innovation Fund (SIF) grant from the Corporation for National and Community
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the Access to Fair Financial Options for Repaying Debt (AFFORD) Act, new legislation that would guarantee all students are able to affordably pay off their student loans by making an income-based repayment option available to all student borrowers. Additionally, he introduced
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to replace No Child Left Behind, the nation’s main K-12 education law: “I’m the product of public schools, and my kids went to the same working class high school I
Washington, DC – Today, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced an education-to-jobs package to better connect students to careers. Merkley’s bills, introduced today in the U.S. Senate, would protect students from predatory for-profit colleges peddling degrees that do not actually lead to jobs, and improve access to middle and high school
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