Sens. Young and Rubio Introduce Investing in Student Success Act
Senators Partner with Purdue President Mitch Daniels to Help Students and Families
Washington D.C. – Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced S.268, the Investing in Student Success Act, legislation that would create a legal structure for a new debt-free higher education financing option called income share agreements (ISA). Income share agreements are an innovative and affordable way for students to finance their education while ensuring that taxpayer dollars are not at risk.
In the last Congress, Rubio introduced the legislation in the Senate and Young introduced the companion bill in the House.
Senators Young and Rubio have closely followed Purdue University’s ‘Back a Boiler’ program, which offers ISAs to a limited number of students. Purdue President and former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has spearheaded the effort and testified in front of Congress on the issue.
“Income share agreements are an innovative debt-free financing option for students,” said Sen. Young. “Students and their families should not be forced to make a choice between a quality education and financial hardship. I’m excited to work with my colleague Senator Rubio and have the support of Purdue President Mitch Daniels in this effort.”
“It’s getting harder and harder for American families to afford the rising costs of college, and students are often forced to run up thousands of dollars of debt,” said Sen. Rubio. “This innovative legislation would empower students to leverage their future income today and access the financial resources of businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations in order to achieve their higher education goals.”
“After our successful launch of ‘Back a Boiler’, we have been hearing from schools around the country interested in pursuing their own program. We thank Senators Young and Rubio for their work to clarify the framework for Income Share Agreements,” said Purdue University President Mitch Daniels. “With Congressional action, widespread use of ISAs can be a reality for students nationwide.”
Purdue’s Back-A-Boiler program is a model ISA that provides a limited number of students with a private-market alternative for financing their educations.
Background
– An income-share agreement is a contract between a student and an investor in which a student pays a small percentage of their income for a number of years after graduation.
– Students who enter into an ISA do not incur debt and only make payments if they are employed and receiving an income above a certain threshold.
– ISAs are designed to offer alternatives to students outside of traditional student loan options.
– The ISA does not accrue interest and offers a number of consumer protections including caps on payments based on income and length of the contract.