1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Student Loan Fairness Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) A well-educated citizenry is critical to our Nation’s ability to compete in the global economy. (2) The Federal Government has a vested interest in ensuring access to higher education. (3) Higher education should be viewed as a public good benefitting our country rather than as a commodity solely benefitting individual students. (4) Recently, total outstanding student loan debt officially surpassed total credit card debt in the United States in 2015, and is on track to exceed $1,230,000,000,000. (5) Excessive student loan debt is impeding economic growth in the United States. Faced with excessive repayment burdens, many individuals are unable to start businesses, invest, or buy homes. Relieving student loan debt would give these individuals greater control over their earnings and would increase entrepreneurship and demand for goods and services. (6) Because of soaring tuition costs, students often have no choice but to amass significant debt to obtain an education that is widely considered a prerequisite for earning a living wage. (7) Amidst rising tuition rates and stagnant grant funding, many students are forced to supplement Federal loans with private loans, which frequently feature higher interest rates with fewer consumer protections. (8) A borrower who experiences an extended hardship for whatever reason, or a borrower who experiences a series of separate hardships over a longer period of time, will often have no choice but to default on his or her private student loans. Opportunities to put such private loans into forbearance are limited. (9) During the period of forbearance on private student loans, interest continues to accrue and is capitalized, and once the borrower comes out of forbearance, he or she owes significantly more on the principal of the loan than before the hardship period began. 3. 10/10 Loan Repayment and Forgiveness Part G of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965