119th Congress Education
S. 1220: Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment Act
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill creates a new income-driven repayment plan for student loans called the Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment (SOAR) plan. The SOAR plan has similar provisions to, but further expands on, the Department of Education's (ED's) final rule published on July 10, 2023, that created the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. The SAVE plan was blocked by federal courts.
The bill directs ED to carry out a SOAR plan program that complies with specified requirements. The bill allows all federal student loan types to be eligible for repayment under the SOAR plan, including Parent PLUS Loans and Federal Family Education Loans.
Under the SOAR plan, a federal student loan borrower whose income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) has $0 monthly payments. A borrower whose income is over 250% of the FPL pays 5% of their discretionary income on loans obtained for undergraduate study and 10% of their discretionary income for all other outstanding loans (e.g., loans obtained for graduate study).
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Additionally, under the SOAR plan, holders of eligible federal student loans (e.g., ED or private lenders) must apply 50% of the borrower's monthly payment toward outstanding principal. The other 50% must be applied in the following order: (1) accrued charges and collection costs on the loan, (2) outstanding interest, and (3) outstanding principal.
ED must forgive any loan balance that remains outstanding after a specified maximum repayment period (e.g., 10 years or 15 years).
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Richard Blumenthal D-CTOriginal
- Cory Booker D-NJOriginal
- Kirsten Gillibrand D-NYOriginal
- Mazie Hirono D-HIOriginal
- Timothy Kaine D-VAOriginal
- Andy Kim D-NJOriginal
- Edward Markey D-MAOriginal
- Alejandro Padilla D-CAOriginal
- Bernard Sanders I-VTOriginal
- Charles Schumer D-NYOriginal
- Tina Smith D-MNOriginal
- Ron Wyden D-OROriginal
- Peter Welch D-VTOriginal
- Elizabeth Warren D-MAOriginal
- Chris Van Hollen D-MD
- Ben Luján D-NM
- Tammy Duckworth D-IL
Who scored on this bill
- 1Jeff Merkley SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced2 events+6
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Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.
Other bills by Jeff Merkley
- S. 1874: Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2026
- S. 4259: Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026
- S.J.Res. 196: Disapproval of Department of Education rule: Reimagining and Improving Student Education-Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations
- S.J.Res. 156: Disapproval of Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection relating to the withdrawal of the rule rule: Truth in Lending (Regulation Z); Consumer Credit Offered to Borrowers in Advance of Expected Receipt of Compensation for Work
- S. 1092: WIPPES Act
- S. 2110: REUSE Act of 2025
History
- Introduced in the Senate by Jeff Merkley.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.