Young Americans go to college to improve their odds of being successful and prosperous in an increasingly competitive society. Student loan debt, unfortunately, can inhibit the freedom that degrees are supposed to provide. Recent data shows that Americans bogged down with student debt are financially handicapped by it well beyond the years after immediately graduating.
Student Debt Relief Program to Help Young Entrepreneurs
Many now believe that borrowing money to pay tuition can create such financial hardship that it minimizes the advantages that should come from pursuing further education after high school. Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire’s new bill leads a new effort to support recent college grads interested in starting their own businesses.
What is the Hassan bill?
The Hassan bill allows young entrepreneurs to defer college loan payments for up to three years, so they have more time and funds to launch companies. If these budding businesses are based in economically challenged communities, the recent grads launching them may have the option to cancel as much as $20,000 of their student loan debt after paying only a part of it.
What led to the Hassan Bill’s creation?
Senator Maggie Hassan to Sponsor legislation to ease student debt in order to give more young college grads the support they need to get startups off the ground. The senator has observed that the higher the debt load a college graduate carries, the less likely they’ll be able to pursue new and exciting business ideas. In fact, Senator Hassan has noted that the more national student debt rises, the fewer new companies that would ultimately stimulate the U.S. economy are started.
How do you apply for the program?
A startup has to first register with a local Small Business Development Center, an organization that works in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Hundreds of these nationwide government agencies exist to support the growth of startups.
Free planning assistance is just one of the basic services they offer from offices all over the U.S. Assistance available ranges from how to procure a business permit to how to file and pay taxes. Those qualified to participate will be informed on what the best sources of loans, grants, and venture capital are.
Who is Senator Hassan?
Maggie Hassan is a New Hampshire Democrat and mother committed to providing resources that provide ordinary people with the support they need to launch their own businesses. The Reigniting Opportunity for Innovators (ROI) Act is one such effort. Senator Hassan is also a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation where much of her role has been to increase the numbers of young women entering science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions.
Senator Hassan recently took part in a Joint Economic Committee hearing on how to better prepare average Americans for the rising opportunities in the U.S. labor market. She strongly believes that the federal government should be more active in making sure that those with student loan debt are still able to jump-start groundbreaking businesses that feed the domestic economy’s growth.