Dive Brief:

• Two U.S. senators are co-sponsoring a bill to lower college costs by withholding federal money from schools that fail to meet affordability and quality standards.
• The bill is similar to a proposal from the president to create a rating system for colleges that could be used to distribute federal money.
• Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Brian Schatz of Hawaii are 40 and 41, respectively, and are both still paying their college loans.

Dive Insight:

While it's possible that two Democratic senators would introduce college affordability legislation without consulting the White House, it's not the most likely explanation. This probably represents the administration's attempt to get the ball rolling on its project.