The College Cost Reduction act is now law! And some friends of mine at the Education and Labor Committee have created a pretty funny video about the best parts about it. I've included the video in the full blog post, all you have to do is hit "View Full Blog Post" to see it. In the meantime...here is a little info on what the new law does.

Under the legislation, the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship will increase by $1,090 over the next five years, reaching $5,400 by 2012, up from $4,050 in 2006 – thus restoring the purchasing power of the Pell Grant scholarship. Some students will see an immediate boost of almost $500 in their Pell Grant scholarship in the 2008-2009 school year alone. Roughly 5.5 million low- and moderate-income students would benefit from this increase.

The bill will also cut interest rates in half on need-based student loans, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent, over the next four years. Once fully phased-in, this will save the typical student borrower – with $13,800 in need-based student loan debt – $4,400 over the life of the loan. About 6.8 million students take out need-based loans each year.

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