news release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 10, 2007

CONTACT:
James Carroll
(202) 466-3686 ext. 102 		jcarroll@equaljusticeworks.org
www.equaljusticeworks.org
CONGRESS AMENDS COLLEGE COST REDUCTION AND ACCESS ACT
TO CORRECT "MARRIAGE PENALTY"
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Public service advocates applauded action by the House on Wednesday to correct the "marriage penalty" in the recently passed College Cost Reduction and Access Act, part of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The technical amendment (S. 2371) provides that a married borrower who files a separate Federal income tax return will have the amount of the borrower's income-based repayment calculated solely on the basis of the borrower's student loan debt and adjusted gross income, rather than on the combined income of the borrower and the spouse.

Equal Justice Works joined other public interest law leaders to support the enactment of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) which was signed by the President in September. The CCRAA creates significant benefits like income-based repayment and public service loan forgiveness. The original act based the amount of monthly repayment for married borrowers on the combined income of the borrower and his or her spouse, significantly lowering the benefit to married borrowers.

Georgetown Law Professor Philip Schrag spearheaded a successful effort to correct this “marriage penalty.” Equal Justice Works partnered with Professor Schrag to gather personal statements from married and engaged public servants, describing the hardship caused by the “marriage penalty.” Congressional staff credit these statements with the passage of the amendment. The relevant text reads:
SEC. 2. INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT FOR MARRIED BORROWERS FILING SEPARATELY.

Section 493C of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1098e) is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(d) Special Rule for Married Borrowers Filing Separately- In the case of a married borrower who files a separate Federal income tax return, the Secretary shall calculate the amount of the borrower's income-based repayment under this section solely on the basis of the borrower's student loan debt and adjusted gross income.'
"We believe that the College Cost Reduction and Access Act will change the future of public interest law by making it possible for more law school graduates, most of whom contend with huge educational debt, to choose public service," said Heather Wells Jarvis, Program Manager at Equal Justice Works and author of Financing the Future: Responses to the Rising Debt of Law Students. "We are relieved that with this amendment married borrowers will have access to the same benefits as single borrowers. We're delighted with the correction."

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Equal Justice Works, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1986 by law students dedicated to working for equal justice on behalf of underserved communities and causes. Today, Equal Justice Works is the national leader in creating summer and postgraduate public interest opportunities for law students and lawyers as well as in urging more public interest programming at law schools. For more information, visit www.equaljusticeworks.org.
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