AAU yesterday joined a group of 31 other higher education associations on a letter to Senate leadership urging them to provide essential relief to current federal student loan recipients and borrowers already in repayment. The letter says Congress must move quickly to provide necessary, targeted relief to borrowers to prevent current students from dropping out of school due to financial hardship, provide needed financial flexibility to borrowers in repayment, and ultimately avoid strain on the nation’s economy. The associations propose extending relief to borrowers who have recently defaulted on their loans, students who are graduating during these unprecedented times, and to lower the interest rate for loans disbursed during or immediately before the pandemic.