Students currently have no federal official appointed to help them deal with private lenders, said Michael Amodeo, a Bennet spokesman.
A U.S. Department of Education ombudsman helps resolve disputes involving federal student loans, but the federal government has no equivalent official to handle private loans.
“Colorado students need to stay focused on books, not bills, and we need to give them the help they need to make that happen," Bennet said in a news release. “Our students and families should have access to the resources they need if they're having trouble with their lender or struggling to keep up with a loan."
Student debt has garnered increasing attention in recent years as college costs have shot up. In Colorado, graduating college students carried on average $18,321 in debt in 2008, according to the Project on Student Debt, an initiative of the nonprofit Institute for College Access and Success.
“We want to ensure (students) have an advocate who will help them with any problems they may have in dealing with that debt," Amodeo said.
The ombudsman would be part of the Treasury Department.
The Private Education Loan Ombudsman Act, co-sponsored by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.; and Al Franken, D-Minn; has been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
The office of Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., was not prepared to comment on the bill Tuesday.
Fort Lewis College's Office of Financial Aid encourages students to first use federal Stafford loans before applying for private loans.
Private loans, the college says, “have more stringent qualifications of credit worthiness and a higher interest rate than federal student loans."
