White House proposes caps on federal student loan borrowing

As college tuition and student debt continue to rise, the White House is proposing reforms to student loan policy. These reforms include new caps on the amount graduate students and parents can borrow from the federal government. The goal of the reforms is to hold down tuition increases, protect borrowers from unmanageable debt, reduce federal higher-education spending and mitigate the government’s risk from federal student loan defaults. But some experts are skeptical as to whether the proposals — if adopted by Congress — would be effective in holding down higher-education costs, or protecting borrowers from taking on unmanageable debt.