WASHINGTON -- Student borrowers and their families would pay more to finance college under a proposal pushed by a bipartisan group of senators, increasing the federal government’s profits despite warnings over record student debt levels.
The proposal comes as the federal government has been recording mounting profit from students and their families, raising questions about the lawmakers’ claims to help students afford higher education. The Department of Education has booked nearly $120 billion in profit over the last five fiscal years thanks to record spreads between what it costs the government to borrow and what the government charges students and their families.
Of course, these profits will evaporate once government borrowing costs revert to normal.