56% Concerned New Rules Will Add to Federal Debt

UTICA, NY--A small majority of likely voters (54%) approve of changes made last week by the Obama Administration that ease the payment requirements on federal student loans.

They are split, however, on whether the federal loan program should expand to make sure everyone can afford to graduate (44% to 47%), and a small majority (56%) are concerned the new rules will increase the nation's debt.

Two in five (40%) say the federal government should no longer provide college loans at all, and leave it entirely up to the private sector.

These results are from an Oct. 28-31 IBOPE Inteligência interactive poll.

President Obama has announced changes to federal student loan programs that would: allow some college graduates to limit federal student loan repayments to 10% of their discretionary income starting in January, two years before the cap was due to take effect under federal law; forgive remaining debt on the federal loans after 20 years, five years earlier than under current law; and allow those with more than one student loan to consolidate their debt. Do you approve or disapprove of these changes?

The results on the impact of the new rules mirrored opinion on approval for them, as 56% say they will be important in helping students pay off their loans and reduce long-term debt and 38% believe they will not be important in accomplishing those results.

Should the federal government increase its role in providing loans with a goal of making sure everyone who puts in the effort to graduate from college can afford to do so?

How concerned are you that these changes to the federal college loan program will increase the federal debt?

Should the federal government no longer be involved in providing colleges loans, and instead leave that entirely to the private sector?

IBOPE Inteligência conducted an online survey of 2,144 U.S. likely voters. A sampling of IBOPE Inteligência's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the U.S., was invited to participate. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender and education to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 2.2 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. The MOE calculation is for sampling error only.

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ABOUT IBOPE Inteligência

IBOPE Inteligência is a non-partisan, premier global public opinion polling and market research firm that offers timely, accurate results and in-depth analysis and insights. IBOPE Inteligência works with issue experts in a vast array of fields including healthcare, technology, finance, insurance, energy, agriculture, public affairs, and media who offer insightful data analysis and exceptional service to clients in countries throughout the world. IBOPE Inteligência experts analyze data and work with clients to develop and implement new strategies, and offer customized and attractive solutions to challenges our clients face. IBOPE Inteligência was formed in January 2010 following the acquisition of Zogby International by IBOPE Inteligencia of Brazil, a subsidiary of IBOPE Group.

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About IBOPE Group

IBOPE Group is a Brazilian multinational company specializing in media, market and opinion research with offices in the United States and 14 Latin American countries. Since its founding 68 years ago, it has been providing a wide range of information and studies on media, public opinion, voting patterns, consumption habits, branding and market behavior.

For more information on IBOPE Group, please visit www.IBOPE.com.