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Read. Follow. Verify.Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment (SOAR) Act
Last action · April 1, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.Sponsors: Jeff Merkley and 17 others
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What This Bill Would Do
This bill introduces a new income-contingent student loan repayment plan called the 'Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment' (SOAR) plan. It also sets a two-year phase-out period for existing Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans, restricting new enrollments after that window.
This bill would change how federal student loan borrowers calculate their monthly payments and eventually phase out two existing repayment options, affecting the repayment terms for millions of federal loan holders.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Federal student loan borrowers
Borrowers will have access to a new repayment plan and face changes to the availability of existing PAYE and ICR plans.
U.S. Department of Education
The agency is responsible for implementing the new SOAR plan and managing the phase-out of existing repayment programs.
Key Facts
- Establishes the 'Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment' (SOAR) plan as a new income-contingent repayment option.
- Sets the SOAR monthly payment at $0 for income up to 250% of the federal poverty line.
- Sets the SOAR monthly payment at 5% of income exceeding 250% of the federal poverty line.
- Limits the repayment period for the SOAR plan to a maximum of 25 years.
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- Mandates that the SOAR plan becomes available 180 days after the bill's enactment.
- Phases out the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plan: new enrollments are restricted after 2 years, and re-enrollment is prohibited for those who leave the plan after that date.
- Phases out the existing Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan: new enrollments are restricted after 2 years, and re-enrollment is prohibited for those who leave the plan after that date.
- Expands eligibility for the ICR plan during the transition period to include certain Federal Direct PLUS loans and consolidation loans made on behalf of dependent students.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is my monthly payment calculated under the proposed SOAR plan?
What happens to my current PAYE or ICR repayment plan?
When does the SOAR plan become available?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- Apr 1, 2025SenateCommitteeRead twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Apr 1, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced in Senate
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 13 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition to 5% Income-Based Repayment
The bill signals a policy shift toward a 5% income-based repayment threshold for the new SOAR plan, which is lower than many existing income-driven repayment plans.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.congress.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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