Student loans are moving from the Department of Education to the Department of the Treasury, which is great news.
To begin with, taxpayers can expect significant savings from the move. The Department of Education consistently underestimated the cost of loans, to the tune of $311 billion over a 25-year period (estimating profits of $114 billion but incurring losses of $197 billion). Treasury has a much better track record in predicting costs and revenues, which will ensure that the magnitude of losses is consistent with congressional intent. Treasury also takes collecting money owed to the government much more seriously than Education, which will increase repayment rates and reduce losses.
Moving student loans to Treasury is also the biggest step yet toward closing down the Department of Education. Student loans are the Department of Education’s largest budgetary and staffing responsibility. As more and more education programs are moved to other departments and agencies, we move closer to the point at which it becomes politically feasible to shut down the Department of Education.
Closing the department would conform with the Constitution, which authorizes no federal role in education, and would empower states to act as laboratories of democracy in education.