# 119-s-1220: Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment Act

119-s-1220, Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-05-15).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1220
- As of: 2026-05-15
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1220
- Congress: 119
- Title: Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-01
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 17
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-05-15

## Summary

**SOAR: a new income-contingent repayment plan tied to income and the share of undergraduate debt.** This bill would create the Savings Opportunity and Affordable Repayment (SOAR) plan that sets monthly federal student loan payments based on family income and how much of a borrower’s debt comes from undergraduate loans.

## Cosponsors (17)

- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-06-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2025-10-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2025-11-06T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New SOAR repayment plan for borrowers: benefit, high. This bill would create a new SOAR income-based repayment plan 180 days after enactment. You would pay $0 a month if your AGI is up to 250% of the poverty line. If your AGI is higher, you would pay 5% of the excess for your undergraduate loan share and 10% of the excess for other loans, each prorate…
- Limits on PAYE enrollment: cost, medium. This bill would restrict who may choose or re-enroll in the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plan. Before two years after enactment, you could choose PAYE only if your loans meet rules in effect on January 19, 2025 and you had a partial financial hardship when you first entered PAYE. On or after the two-year…
- Changes to income-contingent repayment rules: mixed, medium. This bill would expand which loans can use the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan. It would add certain Direct PLUS loans made for dependent students and certain consolidation loans that repay those PLUS loans. The bill would also amend ICR to include the SOAR plan starting 180 days after enact…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-1220 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1220)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1220 (as of 2026-05-15).