WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on President Obama’s “Student Aid Bill of Rights”:

Too many people in Connecticut are burdened with unacceptably high levels of student loan debt – debt that prevents them from taking big steps in life, like buying a car, paying rent each month, or even saving for their own kids’ college. The President’s “Student Aid Bill of Rights” is welcome news for families in Connecticut because it holds colleges and student loan lenders accountable to students who deserve a break. But the most important conversation we can have around student loan debt is how to make college more affordable in general. As someone with student debt of my own, I’m doing what I can in Congress by supporting legislation that will hold colleges accountable to keeping down costs. My bill, the College Affordability and Innovation Act, does that by incentivizing schools to create new and innovative programs to drive down the cost of college, and holding them accountable when they don’t. The President’s bill of rights will hopefully amplify that conversation so that students in Connecticut and the rest of the country don’t have to worry about affording college in the first place.