Borrower voices explain the need for affordable student-loan repayment

  Student-loan debt continues to be an issue of grave concern for American student borrowers. In 2014, there were approximately 41 million Americans with federal student-loan debt, up from 28 million in 2007. Outstanding debt has reached $1.1 trillion in federal student loans and $200 billion in private student loans. Last year, in an effort to make repaying student-loan debt more affordable, President Barack Obama announced his intention to expand Pay As You Earn, or PAYE, a repayment plan that allows certain student-loan borrowers to repay their debt based on their income. President Obama said that PAYE gives “graduates the opportunity to pursue the dreams that inspired them to go to school in the first place.”