The estimated student loan debt in America is $1.2 trillion, said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) in an interview with the Spartan Echo on May 1; this is greater than the estimated credit card debt in America.

According to a statement released by Sen. Warner’s office on April 29, “Students borrowed $117 billion in just federal student loans last year. And students continue to borrow private student loans.”

The cost of a college education is higher and rising faster than the price of healthcare, and Sen. Warner also says he has heard more people are concerned with the cost of education than the cost of health care.

As the first member of his family to graduate from college, Sen. Warner says that despite his two failed business ventures early in his career, he would not be as successful today if he had accumulated more college debt.

The rising price of education combined with cutbacks on state and federal education funds is large concern to the American college student and Sen. Warner.

Sen. Warner has partnered with other legislators, such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Sen. Chris Coons (R-Florida), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), to name a few, to address the issue of student debt in America.

Some of the proposed plans by legislators include allowing high school students who qualify for financial aid, specifically Pell Grants, to access those financial resources in high school if they are taking college-level courses that will apply toward a degree.

Warner urges high school students to take college courses during high school to shorten the time they spend at a college campus, which in turn reduces the amount they would have to pay for their college degree.

Post-high school graduation, Sen. Warner encourages students to take advantage of community colleges, then transfer to four-year institutions after two years. He says he has plans to make credits from community colleges transfer to more institutions nation-wide, including Harvard.

One of the things Sen. Warner stressed in his interview with the Spartan Echo was the Student’s Right to Know Before You Go Act.

According to a statement released by Sen. Warner’s Office, “The bill makes clear that students have a right to know the following information, which colleges and universities already gather: how long it will take to complete their education, their likelihood of graduating, the chances of getting a job when they finish, odds they will default on their student loans, how much they can expect to earn, the cost of education.”

Sen. Warner would like for this information to be presented in a more user-friendly manner; he compared his plans to the popular real estate website Zillow.com, which provides information to users in a clear and brief manner. Sen. Warner hopes this will present prospective students with more valuable information than dorm rooms and dining halls during their selection process.

Among the other plans for management of student debt are income-based repayment of student loans which would set student loan payments based on the income of the borrower and improvements of the CTE-Perkins Act which would, “strengthen programs to ensure resources flow to high skill, high wage, high demand and high growth occupations,” according to a statement released by Sen. Warner’s office. This would include “collaboration between industry and schools so that students learn by doing, rather than the traditional focus on just theory.”