Higher Education

Working to Improve College Affordability & Accessibility: The rising cost of a college education is squeezing millions of students and families who rely on access to an affordable education to compete in the competitive job market and to preserve their quality of life. As the cost of college outstrips middle class Americans' ability to pay, too many students are forced to take on high loan debt burdens and work long hours that interfere with their academic study.

Tips on how to apply for federal student loans and grants »

Key Legislation:

Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 »
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act »
The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 »
Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 »
College Cost Reduction and Access Act »
Student Loan Scandal »
College Student Relief Act »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today issued the following statement after the College Board released its annual “Trends in Higher Education Series” highlighting trends in both student aid and college pricing for the 2009-2010 school year. 
Chairman Miller discussed public education and college affordability at Contra Costa Community College in San Pablo, Calif. on Tuesday.

The committee has held seven hearings on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (currently known as No Child Left Behind) during the 111th Congress. Chairman Miller has consistently stated his belief that the key to long-term economic recovery is a strong public education system. Richmond Confidential reported:

“‘In the middle of this economic chaos,’ [Miller] said, ‘this president knows we can’t compete in a world economy unless we modernize some of our basic systems.’”



“Creating a new standard educational model should incorporate the way that young people share information, he said.

“‘All of you create a huge amount of content every day, you teach your peers how to use that new phone, that new program,’ he said. ‘How do we call on people to participate in the educational process who are your peers?’”

Miller also spoke about the rising cost of college and how many students struggle to attain a college degree -- he wrote the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act to make college more affordable by increasing federal financial aid and making federal student loans easier to repay. Richmond Confidential recorded his comments:

“‘About half the people that show up for community college, they don’t show up for the second year,’ Miller said. ‘They don’t get the certificate they’re after, they don’t get the career opportunity, they don’t get the academic degree they were after and they may end up in debt.’

“Miller spoke in detail about recent reforms to the student loan industry. Subsidies worth $60 billion will be diverted over ten years from banks, which manage loans, to students in the form of grants and federal loans.

“The new law, he explained, also rewards those pursuing public service jobs. ‘If you get in the public health and education sectors, after ten years your loans go away,’ he said, ‘because you’re giving something back.’”

Pell Grants Available to More Students: News of the Day

More students are taking advantage of the Pell Grant scholarship nationwide; the scholarship has become critical for students and families during these tough economic times.

The maximum Pell Grant was raised to a record $5,550 in 2010 due to the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), authored by Chairman Miller and signed by President Obama in March. Not only has Miller worked to increase federal financial aid, he has made college loans more affordable – the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 has lowered interest rates on need-based student loans from 6.8 percent to the current 4.5 percent.  The rates will drop again to 3.4 percent in July 2011.

Springfield, Ohio’s Springfield News-Sun wrote that the number of undergraduates relying on Pell Grants has increased:

“An increasing number of students locally and nationally have been receiving financial aid through the Federal Pell Grant Program.

“In Clark County, the recipients of the need-based grant increased more than 5,500 students between academic year 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education. In the same time period, the grant disbursement increased by $26.9 million.”

The Herald Sun of Durham, North Carolina had similar news to report:

“According to recent figures issued by the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, the number of Pell Grant recipients in North Carolina's 4th Congressional District rose 35 percent last year. The district, which includes all of Durham and Orange counties and parts of Wake and Chatham, had 27,471 students who qualified for the aid during the 2009-10 academic year, an increase of 7,145 over the year before.”



“Adding to the increase is that under a new student-loan bill signed by President Barack Obama in March, the Pell's Grant's eligibility criteria have changed, and that's made it a little easier to qualify than in the past, Ort and Rome both said.

“Equally important is that the Pell Grant is now authorized for summer school, for the first time.”

Tips for Applying for Federal Student Aid
The Associated Press wrote today that the 111th Congress holds a “record of achievement unseen in years.” The report read:

“Not since the explosive years of the civil rights movement and the hard-fought debut of government-supported health care for the elderly and poor have so many big things -- love them or hate them -- been done so quickly.

“Gridlock? It may feel that way. But that's not the story of the 111th Congress -- not the story history will remember.”

The AP specifically referenced many of Chairman Miller’s achievements when listing important legislation Congressional Democrats have passed, including “a giant step toward universal [health care] coverage”, “an economic stimulus package… to avoid a full-blown depression”,  “making college loans more affordable” and “making it easier for women to challenge pay discrimination.”

Chairman Miller pledged in 2008 to keep the Education and Labor Committee focused on rebuilding and strengthening the middle class during the 111th Congress.
Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, authored an op-ed in the Miami Herald yesterday calling community colleges “America’s gateway to the future.” A community college instructor herself, Dr. Biden chaired yesterday’s White House Summit on Community Colleges. Her sentiments are shared by Chairman Miller, who wrote key community college provisions into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act to improve community college job training programs and give students the academic support they need to succeed. Dr. Biden wrote:

“In order to restore America's economic competitiveness and prosperity, the Obama administration has set a goal of once again having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by the year 2020 -- 10 short years away. Community colleges are central to this effort, and the president has specifically called on community colleges to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates in that time. Our challenge is to help these institutions meet the pressing education and job training needs of millions of students working to achieve the American dream. Students just like the ones in my classroom, whose lives are changed by the confidence and opportunity they gain from a quality education.”



“In the coming months, we will announce the first $500 million of a $2 billion, four-year investment in community colleges authorized by Congress and signed into law on March 30. This federal investment will support new state-of-the-art education, training and skills development programs to help out-of-work Americans re-enter the job market with increased knowledge and more marketable skills. The funds will enable community colleges to work with universities, business, government and unions to develop career pathways leading to more college graduates ready for the workforce as our economy recovers. In addition, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Obama administration has invested billions of dollars specifically in community colleges.”

White House Summit on Community Colleges Today

Today, the White House is hosting a summit on community colleges, chaired by Dr. Jill Biden.  The event will highlight the critical role that community colleges play in developing America's workforce and reaching our country's educational goals.

Earlier this year, the Democratic Congress passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, a law that invests $500 million a year in community colleges for the next four years. All students -- including those who are returning to school after being in the workforce -- will have access to high-quality, low-cost higher education. More courses will be available, at times that work for students.   

Pell Grant Awards: District by District

pell chart.JPG
Under the Democratic Congress, Pell Grant awards have reached an all-time high. For the current academic year, the Pell Grant scholarship increased to $5,550, and beginning in 2013 the maximum scholarship will increase with the cost of inflation by linking the scholarship to the Consumer Price Index. Approximately 8 million U.S. students rely on the Pell Grant scholarship each year to help pay for college.

Click on the state or territory below for Pell Grant award totals and number of recipients for academic year 2008-09 and preliminary figures for academic year 2009-10, organized by congressional district.  (Source: U.S. Department of Education)

States

DC and U.S. Territories



Pell Grants Help California Students Attend College: News of the Day

The University of California system has reported that 39% of its undergraduates receive Pell Grants – the highest level of students receiving federal financial aid in UC history. The Los Angeles Times reported:

“An estimated 70,000 UC undergraduates are receiving federal Pell grants, which typically are awarded to students with family incomes below $50,000. According to the report, that is the largest number in UC history and represents 39% of its undergraduates, up from 35% last year.”

Last year, the Democratic Congress raised Pell scholarships to their highest level in history, $5,550 in 2010. The increase in federal financial aid was part of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), legislation drafted by Chairman Miller. SAFRA will help the country reach President Obama’s goal of producing the most college graduates by 2020 by helping make college affordable for American families.

University of California President Mark Yudof shared his news by visiting Grant Union High School in Del Paso Heights, Calif., telling students that a college education is not out of reach. The Sacramento Bee heard reaction from students:


“‘I'm from a low-income family and this makes me want to go to college even more,’ said Grant High junior Alana Gerasimchuk. ‘It makes me confident that I can go to UC Berkeley.’

“Former Grant High student CrystalKay Fairrington said it's important for kids in Del Paso Heights and other communities to know there are opportunities out there. Fairrington, who also spoke at the pep rally, attends UC Berkeley.

‘Students think it's beyond their reach, and it's not,” she said.” 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Over $250 million in federal investments to help fund innovative programs that help students graduate college and aid historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in better serving their students will be released today by the Department of Education, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) announced this morning.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today released the following statement after the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law passed H.R. 5043, the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010 (H.R. 5043). Miller is a cosponsor of the legislation which would allow borrowers to discharge their private student loans in bankruptcy, the same way they can discharge other private debt.
 
“I applaud Congressman Cohen and the other members of the subcommittee for their decisive action to restore fairness and to protect students. This legislation reverses a Republican loophole that protected for-profit lenders and slighted student borrowers. This legislation finally and rightfully puts students’ needs above special interests and lobbyists. It is a clear, common sense step in the right direction to stand up for students and borrowers. I look forward to voting for this legislation when it comes to the House floor. It's a victory for students and families struggling to pay for college in this economy.”

For more information about the legislation, click here

SAFRA aims for better aid : News of the Day

With students returning to college across the nation, many of them are facing rising costs of tuition and books. The Daily Collegian of Penn State reports today on changes to federal students loans that make higher education more accessible and affordable for students.

Katrina Wehr writes:

The law, which was included in the health care reconciliation bill passed in March, simplifies the student loan process, therefore preventing students from accumulating unmanageable debt after graduation, Miller said.

"No one should have to mortgage their future to go to college," Miller said. "That's just unacceptable."

In an effort to meet President Barack Obama's goal of producing the most college graduates in the nation's history by the year 2020, SAFRA introduced an increase in funding for Pell Grants -- as the Consumer Price Index's cost of living increases, so will the monetary value of the grants.

He said the law also lowers caps on monthly loan repayments.

Beginning in 2014, borrowers who qualify for income-based repayment on their loans will be able to cap their payments at 10 percent of their monthly income, Miller said. Prior to the switch, the cap was 15 percent, Miller said.
Learn about student loan reform and what's in it for you. Also, learn to separate the myths from facts about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Quiz: What's the current federal student loan interest rate?

On July 1, 2010, the interest rate for subsidized federal student loans dropped for the third year in a row, as required by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007.

What is the new federal student loan interest rate?

  1. 4.25%
  2. 4.5%
  3. 5.5%
  4. 6.25%
Continue reading for the answer.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement after today’s announcement that the University of California’s postdoctoral scholars overwhelmingly approved a long-sought after first contract with the university. 

News of the Day: Making College Affordable Again

Chairman George Miller authored a column on college affordability as part of Forbes Magazine’s yearly America’s Best Colleges feature. Increasing access to America’s higher education system is one of the primary goals of the Education and Labor Committee under Chairman Miller.

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, written by Miller, became law on March 30, 2010 as part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The law, which saves taxpayers $61 billion over 10 years by switching to the more efficient Direct Loan program, will help America reach President Obama’s goal of producing the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020. Miller wrote:

“We’ve taken important steps to ensure the stability of the student loan programs, to make college more affordable and help families and students manage their student loan debt.

“First, we increased the efficiency of the loan program so that we have more to invest in our students, and we increased the reliability of the programs so that students and families are never again left wondering where to turn in a difficult economy.

“Earlier this year, as part of the historic health care legislation, we made the single largest investment in federal student aid ever and transformed the way student loans programs operate.

“With President Obama’s direction we made the common-sense decision to stop wasting taxpayer money on subsidies to big banks and instead use that money to invest directly in students.

“By making the switch to direct lending, we saved $61 million that we gave directly back to the student. We raised the Pell grant scholarship, we made it easier for borrowers to repay their loans, regardless of their income, and we invested in community colleges and historically black colleges and universities. Most significantly, we made all of these investments in students and our economic future at no cost to taxpayers.

“Second, too often recent graduates look beyond careers in public service because they worry they will not be able to afford to pay back their loans. Recognizing this struggle, we made it easier for students to consider careers in public service.

“Under a program passed in 2007 as part of sweeping college affordability legislation, college graduates who enter into public service careers, such as teachers, public defenders and prosecutors, are eligible for complete loan forgiveness after 10 years of qualifying public service and loan payments. At a time when Americans’ interest in public service jobs is surging, this program is especially helpful.

“Third, we instituted a means for students to repay their loans that caps borrowers’ monthly loan payments at just 15% of their discretionary income. After 25 years in the program, borrowers’ debts will be completely forgiven.”

“Take, for example, a recent graduate with $30,000 in federal student loans and a starting salary of $25,000. Under this repayment program, this borrower’s monthly loan payment would be $110--one-third of the $345 monthly payment under a standard plan.

“Starting in 2014 new borrowers who are eligible for this repayment program will be able to cap their monthly loan payments at just 10% of their discretionary income. Borrowers who responsibly make their monthly payments will see their remaining balance forgiven after 20 years of repayment.”

News of the Day: New Rules for Student Loans

The Wall Street Journal writes today about the new rules for student loans

Some parents and students may also see lower interest rates on new loans. Now that all Parent PLUS loans are under the Direct Loan Program, the fixed rate for new Parent PLUS loans is 7.9%. Some lenders had charged 8.5%.

And the fixed rate has dropped, to 4.5% from 5.6%, for new subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduates. With subsidized loans, the federal government pays the interest on a loan while the student is in school, during the grace period after graduation or if the loan is in deferment, which is when borrowers are temporarily allowed to stop making payments.

The Department of Education also has increased the maximum Federal Pell Grant award to $5,550 for the 2010-2011 academic year, from $5,350 for the 2009-2010 school year.

As Investopedia pointed out, the reforms eliminate the middleman, enlarge Pell Grants, increase funding for minority-serving institutions, lower income-based payments, and offer more forgiveness opportunities.

Learn more about how reforms to federal student loans help students, families and taxpayers.

Retaining Jobs in Student Lending

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced the availability of $25 million to help retain employees working for companies that will service loans under the new Direct Lending Program.  By transitioning to all Direct Lending and eliminating wasteful subsidies to private bankers, this Democratic Congress was able make college dramatically more affordable by investing billions of dollars in additional student aid – all at no new cost to taxpayers.

Below is a statement from Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, author of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act:

“Secretary Duncan has taken an important step forward today for America’s workers and the future of this country. By getting this money out the door quickly, he’s accomplished the critical tasks of both helping to save jobs and retrain and retain workers while also ensuring our student loan programs are operating in the best interest of students and families working hard to pay for college.”

Read the Department’s full release.

More information about investments in students and families.

News of the Day: Federal Student Loans Just Got Better

The USA Today highlighted some of the July 1st changes to the federal student loan program that lowered rates and made repayment easier.

But before you even think about a private loan, make sure you have maxed out on your federal student loans. Federal student loans have fixed interest rates and more flexible repayment terms than private loans. If you have trouble making payments after you graduate, the federal government offers several programs that provide relief (more on this later). Private lenders aren't required to do anything to help troubled borrowers.

All PLUS loans (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) are now issued through the Direct Loan program. Like Stafford loans, these loans were previously offered by private lenders, as well as through the Direct Loan program. The rate for Direct PLUS Loans is 7.9% vs. 8.5% for FFEL PLUS Loans. Parents can use PLUS loans to pay for any college costs that aren't covered through Stafford loans and financial aid. Graduate students are also eligible to borrow through the PLUS program.

Rates for subsidized Stafford loans, which are available to borrowers who demonstrate economic need, fell to 4.5% from 5.6%. This new rate will apply only to subsidized Stafford loans issued between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, says Robert Murray, spokesman for USA Funds, a non-profit company that services loans. Rates on subsidized loans issued before July 1 won't change, he says. The rate for unsubsidized Stafford loans, which are available to all students, remains at 6.8%.

Origination fees for Direct Stafford loans dropped to 1% from 1.5% on July 1. Because the cost of the fee is deducted from the proceeds of the loan, the reduction will increase the amount of money available to pay your college costs, Murray says.
Additionally, the maximum Pell Grant increased to $5,500.

But current students aren't the only ones who benefit. There is help for graduates, too.

Other changes that took effect July 1 could provide relief for graduates who aren't making enough money to afford their loan payments.

The income-based repayment program allows federal student loan borrowers to have their loan payments reduced, based on income and family size. For most eligible borrowers, loan payments will be less than 10% of their income. Two updates to the program could lower payments even more for some borrowers:

Married couples will no longer be penalized. Previously, when couples filed a joint tax return, the program assumed that both spouses could use 100% of their combined income to make loan payments. In cases in which both spouses had student loans, the minimum payments were much higher than the minimum for unmarried borrowers with the same debt and income, says Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access and Success. The new formula will take into account married couples' combined income and their combined debt to calculate minimum payments, Asher says.

Eligibility for income-based repayment will be based on the balance when the loan went into repayment or the current loan amount, whichever is greater. This will primarily benefit borrowers who have gone into forbearance or deferment, Asher says. These programs allow borrowers to temporarily suspend payments, but if interest accrues during the period, they end up with a larger loan balance.
Learn more about the July 1, 2010 federal student loan benefits.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, tonight issued the following statement on the House passage of H.R. 4899, the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Student aid benefits increase today, as the Pell Grant scholarship increases to an all-time high and interest rates on need-based student loans decrease. Additionally, all federal student loans will originate through the Direct Lending program, as a result of a measure passed earlier this year that eliminates wasteful subsidies to banks and invests those savings to help students and families, all at no new cost to taxpayers.

Making College More Affordable: New Benefits on July 1st

New Benefits on July 1st: What Every Borrower Should Know

The cost of paying for college has become a heavy burden for many Americans. Young people and adults across country are pursuing higher education in record rates, but even as the economy recovers, American families are still struggling to pay tuition bills. The cost of college, moreover, continued to rise during the economic downturn and currently shows no sign of slowing.

Given these challenges, it’s critical for current college students, new or soon-to-be graduates, and workers to know about new benefits that go into effect July 1, 2010 to make student loan payments manageable for millions of Americans. From eliminating wasteful subsidies to private bankers and switching to a system of direct lending of federal student loans to increasing the maximum Pell Grant scholarship, to reducing the monthly payment borrowers must pay back on their loans, this Democratic Congress has made historic investments in our economic future – all at no cost to taxpayers.

Specifically, borrowers will see the following changes go into effect:


Rep. Dina Titus: Student Loans Become More Affordable Today

(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Dina Titus, Education and Labor Committee Member.)

Thumbnail image for Dina Titus.jpgOne of my top priorities in Congress is making higher education more affordable.  Especially in this difficult economic climate, when competition for jobs has increased at the same time that many students’ ability to pay for college has decreased, it is important for the federal government to make smart investments in our students.  These investments will make our young people – and our economy – more competitive in the global marketplace. That is why I am proud to be a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, where I have the opportunity to advocate for students in Southern Nevada and across the country.  The Education and Labor Committee and Congress have done tremendous work over the last few years in making a higher education more affordable and accessible to students than ever before, and this summer we will see some of the effects of those changes.

For example, starting today, students will see lower interest rates on their student loans, down to 4.5% from 5.6%.  This change will result in substantial savings for students over the life of their loan.  For 2010 we have raised the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550; the maximum Pell Grant will continue to increase in the years to come, up to $5,975 by 2017.  And this summer all new federal student lending will be converted to the effective and cost-efficient Direct Loan program.  Instead of providing banks with taxpayer subsidies, students will receive loans directly from the government, saving taxpayers $61 billion.
The deadline to apply for federal student aid online is midnight CDT tonight. If you plan to apply for federal financial aid for the coming school year, you must submit your FAFSA form by midnight. In 2008, the Democratic congress simplified the FAFSA form as part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, making federal aid more accessible to all students.

Tips for Applying for Federal Loans and Grants

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of recent press reports raising concerns about the for-profit education sector Democratic lawmakers called for a review today of for-profit or “proprietary” institutions of higher education.  U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Assistant Majority Leader and U.S. Reps. Timothy Bishop (D-NY) and Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess the quality of for-profit institutions, as well as how much of their revenue is comprised of Federal student aid and other Federal funding sources.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Accrediting agencies responsible for assessing how institutions of higher education determine program length and assign credit hours to coursework should establish definitions of credit hours and minimum standards for program length to ensure federal student financial aid is disbursed appropriately, the Department of Education’s Inspector General told the House Education and Labor Committee today.

Credit hours are used to determine the amount of federal aid for which a student is eligible.   Accrediting agencies recognized by the Department of Education are intended to ensure that institutions provide quality content and academic rigor at the postsecondary level.  The Inspector General found that in one case an accrediting agency approved an institution of higher education for accreditation even though its evaluators noted the institution had an “egregious” credit hour policy and granted students an inflated number of credit hours for certain education programs. 

The Department of Education Inspector General’s Review of Standards for Program Length in Higher Education

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, June 17, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Thursday, June 17, 2010, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine recent reports from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education looking at how higher education accrediting agencies review institutions’ policies on credit hours and program length.
The House is expected to vote on the Work-Life Balance Award Act on Tuesday, June 15.  This measure would establish an annual Work-Life Balance Award at the Department of Labor to be given out annually by the Secretary of Labor to employers with exemplary work-life workforce policies.

On Wednesday, June 16, Chairman Miller will urge the Senate to put the 401(k) fee disclosure provision back into H.R. 4213 by delivering pies to each Finance Committee Senator with a slice missing representing the fees Wall Street takes from accountholders.

The 401(k) fee disclosure provisions were part of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213), important legislation that the House of Representatives approved and sent to the Senate on May 28. Last week, Sen. Max Baucus introduced proposed changes to the legislation that included the elimination of the requirement that 401(k)-type plans disclose all fees that participants pay.

On Thursday, June 17, 2010, the Committee will hold a hearing to examine recent reports from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education looking at how higher education accrediting agencies review institutions’ policies on credit hours and program length.

On Thursday, June 17, 2010, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine recent reports from the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education looking at how higher education accrediting agencies review institutions’ policies on credit hours and program length.

WHAT:         
“Hearing on “The Department of Education Inspector General’s Review of Standards for Program Length in Higher Education”

WHO:            
Witnesses TBA

WHEN:         
Thursday, June 17, 2010
10:00 a.m. EDT
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website. 

College Acceptance: Now We Can Afford To Be Excited

Now more than ever, Americans need affordable, quality education opportunities to help make our economy strong and competitive again. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act was included in the health care reconciliation bill that was signed into law on March 30, 2010. Reforms in this law will move America toward producing the most college graduates by 2020 by making the single largest investment in federal student aid ever.



Specifically, these provisions will:

  • Invest the bill’s savings to make college affordable and help more Americans graduate
  • Provide reliable, affordable, high-quality Federal student loans for all families
  • Meet Pay-As-You-Go fiscally responsible principles and reduce the deficit
See how SAFRA will benefit students living in each congressional district

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Higher Education Act of 1965 As Amended Through July 1, 2009

Higher Education Act of 1965 As Amended Through July 1, 2009

PREPARED FOR THE USE OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Please note: This compilation of law is unofficial. It has been prepared by the House Office of Legislative Counsel for the use and convenience of the House Committee on Education and Labor. The official compilation of Federal law is the United States Code, and rules of evidence regarding the Code have been established by statute.

This compilation of law is current as of July 1, 2009.

Examining GAO’s Findings on Efforts to Improve Oversight of Low-Income and Minority Serving Institutions

Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee Hearing 10:00 AM, May 27, 2010 2175 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC
On Thursday, May 27th, the Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee will hold a hearing to examine the results of a new GAO report on post-secondary institutions that serve low-income and minority students. The panel will review efforts to monitor the financial and programmatic performance of institutions that receive funding under Titles III and V of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. 

More than 1,200 colleges in the United States serve predominantly minority populations.

News of the Day: Chairman Miller Talks About ESEA, Higher Education and More

Chairman George Miller is featured today in Politico’s video series called the “The Politics of America’s Youth” with Mike Allen. He discusses ESEA reauthorization, higher education, and the bipartisan spirit and support for education reform.

Watch the three part video here.

On ESEA Reauthorization:

"We now have the opportunity to really take that rigid system and make a trade-in, if you will, of some additional flexibility at the local level for outcomes, for results. The Secretary [of Education] has made that clear, the President has made that clear, and I think we've made that clear in the series of hearings that we have held. We'd really like now to put more emphasis on better teachers, more emphasis on better leadership, more emphasis on the use of those resources and the flexible use of those resources, and really put teaching and learning and leadership back into the classroom, back into the local systems, and then stand back and hold them accountable for those--for those results, and we're getting a lot of encouragement as we've held our hearings."

On Higher Education:

"And what we tried to address ... was to see whether or not we could bring down the cost of college for families with an increase in the Pell Grant, by lowering the interest rates on student loans over the next couple of years, and then make it easier for the students and the families to manage that debt that they're required to take out to get the degree that they desire. And one of the ways we do that is we have--we let them have an income determinant payment system. How much you pay every month depends upon how much you're making. So, if you start a career with a low entry wage, you can still have that career and you can manage your payments.

"If you go into public service or you work for a non-profit, if you want to become a nurse, a doctor, a teacher, a prosecutor, a public defender and you're working for a public agency, in ten years, your loans go away, and you never have to pay more than 10--10 percent of your discretionary income to pay that loan back. All of a sudden, people can envision careers that otherwise they couldn't have, where they may really wanted to be a teacher, to be a health nurse, to be a physician's assistant, but they couldn't see how they could balance the pay and the education. We need those people, and so this is really in the public interest.

"We also--when we moved to the direct loan programs, it required the companies bring jobs back to America because they're now managing federal assets when they manage the repayment of these loans, and that requires people--that it be done here in America."

On Bipartisanship:

"There is--clearly, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you have a big interest in children. It's about our children, our neighbor's children, our constituents' children, it's about the country, and that passion is on both sides of the aisle, certainly in our Committee."

News of the Day: More Students and Families Need Help Paying for College

The New York Times reports today on the increased demand for college financial aid:

"The envelope arrives with good news. The college is pleased to announce that the student has been offered acceptance and, if he or she is fortunate, some scholarship money.

"But in this busted economy, more parents are saying they need more money and are filing appeals. Then the waiting starts again, for a phone call.

"The job of delivering that news — after weighing hopes and dreams against limited budgets — falls to people like Sandra J. Oliveira, the executive director of the financial aid office at Providence College."

Federal student aid is a key component in enabling many students to pay for college:

"'With the change in circumstance, they may get another $1,000, $2,000 in grant,' she said, using shorthand for a direct scholarship, as opposed to loans. Moreover, the precipitous drop in income will most likely qualify the family for a federal Pell grant, perhaps as much as $5,550."

Just a reminder: the maximum Pell Grant award was increased for the 2010 school year, thanks to the education reconciliation bill President Obama signed into law in March, which invests $36 billion over 10 years to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $5,975 by 2017. 

The law also makes federal loans more affordable for borrowers to repay by investing $1.5 billion to strengthen an Income-Based Repayment program that currently allows borrowers to cap their monthly federal student loan payments at 15 percent of their discretionary income. These new provisions would lower this monthly cap to just 10 percent for new borrowers after 2014.
Michelle Singletary at the Washington Post has an excellent column today about how students can be trapped in private student loans with no way out.

She writes:

"This was not a decision I made lightly," [Valisha Cooks] said. "Filing for bankruptcy was expensive and, most of all, humiliating. I was raised to work hard, pay my bills and be responsible." About $10,000 in other debt was erased. But not her student loans.

"Now, even though I have a good job, I can't afford to pay all my bills in any one month," Cooks told the [House Judiciary] subcommittee. "I go to food banks to feed my son, and I will never be able to afford a house." Like child support and tax debt, student loans are nearly impossible to eliminate in bankruptcy. You have to prove "undue hardship." That's a high hurdle to jump.

Before, the only loans that couldn't be canceled by filing for bankruptcy were federally backed student loans, as well as loans where nearly all the funds came from a nonprofit institution, according the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. In the case of the federal loans, this made sense. The government backs the loans, and defaults are a direct hit to the federal budget, meaning we all pay for those who can't.

But in 2005, during a major overhaul of the bankruptcy code, private student loans were given an elevated status and thus couldn't be discharged. This didn't make sense. If we are going to have a fair bankruptcy system, private education loans should be treated the same as other private consumer debt. That's the risk lenders take, similar to the risk borne by providers of loans for cars, homes or other consumer purchases.

Lenders and opponents of this legislation argue that if people can erase their education debt, private loans for college will be tougher to qualify for and harder to get. There's a concern that people will get an education and immediately run to bankruptcy court to shed their loan obligations before they make big money.

I covered bankruptcy for years, and seldom did I see bankruptcy petitioners gleefully sitting in the corridors of a courthouse eagerly waiting to shirk their financial responsibility. People usually seek bankruptcy protection as a last resort. Besides, there is a test in place to prevent people from scamming the system.
Chairman Miller agrees with Ms. Singletary, which is why he's called for Congress to end special treatment for private student loan providers. "In 2008, the Democratic Congress took important steps to provide long overdue consumer protections for students when borrowing financially risky private student loans, but more needs to be done. Private student loans remain far more expensive for borrowers than federal student loans, and often carry tricky terms and conditions. Especially in this economy, private student loan borrowers deserve the same basic protections consumers receive when using their credit cards, buying a car, or paying their electric bill."



WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee released the following statement after the House Science and Technology Committee voted last night to update and reauthorize the America COMPETES Act. Among other things, the COMPETES Act seeks to boost America’s competitiveness by strengthening the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House education committee and the lead author of a historic new college affordability law, announced his support for legislation that would allow Americans to discharge their private student loans in bankruptcy, the same way they can discharge other types of private debt. The House Judiciary Committee today held a hearing to examine the bill, the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010 (H.R. 5043), which was introduced last week by U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Danny Davis (D-IL). U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Al Franken (D-MN) have introduced a companion bill in the Senate. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) reversed a clarification the Bush administration issued to Title IX  in 2005. The clarification, “Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: Three Part Test – Part Three” allowed universities to use an emailed survey to count towards their compliance with equity in athletics and undermined the ability of colleges and universities to assess the interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex in sports.

News of the Day: 5 Surprise Changes To The Student Loan Program

Investopedia put together what they deemed as 5 Surprise Changes to the Student Loan Program. (Frequent readers of this blog won't be surprised by the reforms helping students and taxpayers.)

Investopedia highlighted these 5 changes to federal student loans:

  1. Elimination of the Middleman
  2. Larger Pell Grants
  3. Increased Funding for Minority-Serving Institutions
  4. Lower Income-Based Payments
  5. More Forgiveness Opportunities
They finished with this:

The Bottom Line
While cash-strapped college students (and their parents) will likely welcome anything that helps them manage those hefty tuition payments, many critics say these measures don't go far enough, especially considering several elements don't go into effect for several years. However, when coupled with recent changes to simply the FAFSA (the form students may complete to apply for federal aid) and the expansion of college-related tax credits, the new legislation may at least provide a little bit of a helping hand to families struggling to afford the overwhelming cost of higher education.
Learn more about how reforms to federal student loans help students, families and taxpayers.

8 Great Ways Student Aid Reform Works For Young Americans

Since 2007, the Democratic-led Congress has:

INCREASED THE MAXIMUM PELL GRANT AWARD TO $5,550 THIS YEAR: By 2017, the maximum Pell Grant is expected to be $5,975. The value of the Pell Grant had been shrinking—paying 75% of college costs in 1977, and just 33% last year.

MADE YOUR STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS MORE AFFORDABLE: Right now you can cap your student loan payment at 15% of your discretionary income, and any balances you have left after 25 years will be forgiven. For new borrowers starting in 2014, this goes down to 10% of your discretionary income, with balances forgiven after 20 years.

LOWERED STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES ON YOUR NEED-BASED LOANS: Subsidized Stafford loan rates have been dropping and will continue to decrease over the next two years, going down to 4.5% in the 2010-2011 school year and reaching 3.4% in the 2011-2012 school year.

INVESTED IN STUDENTS, NOT BANKS: By switching all schools to the more efficient Direct Loan program, the government will save $61 Billion over the next 10 years—money that will now be used to help you, rather than to give subsidies to banks.

MADE IT EASIER TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID & PLAN FOR TEXTBOOKS: We streamlined the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process down from 100 questions and created a two-page FAFSA-EZ form—giving families extra time to plan for college expenses. On textbooks, colleges are now required to provide you with advance information on textbook pricing to help you plan. And publishers must provide pricing information on “unbundled” versions of every “bundled” textbook they sell.

INVESTED IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES -$500 MILLION A YEAR FOR NEXT 4 YEARS: All students—including those who are returning to school after being in the workforce—will have access to high-quality, low-cost higher education. More courses will be available, at times that work for you.

INVESTED $3 BILLION IN HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES AND MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS: This can renew, reform, and expand programming to provide students with the support they need to stay in school and graduate.

ENCOURAGED TEACHING THROUGH TUITION ASSISTANCE AND REWARDED PUBLIC SERVICE THROUGH LOAN FORGIVENESS: You can receive up to $4,000 a year in up-front tuition assistance if you commit to teaching in a high-need school or subject area for four years after you graduate. If you work in public service or at a non-profit for 10 years, and make payments on your federal student loans during that time, any balances you have after 10 years will be forgiven.
A poll from Rasmussen Reports released today purports to show that Americans are strongly against the historic student loan reforms signed into law by President Obama this week. However, when reading the questions Rasmussen asked, it is clear that the firm is playing an April Fools’ gag.

What’s up next for Rasmussen? Gauging Americans’ job approval of the Tooth Fairy?

APRIL FOOLS: “49% think new student loan plan is a bad idea, 35% like it.”(Rasmussen headline)

When presented information on what the student loan reforms signed into law actually do, Americans strongly support it. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act invests billions of dollars in students and families, at no costs to taxpayers. Not surprisingly, critics are using scare tactics to try to mislead the American public about this effort. They’re desperate to preserve the status quo – a system that for too long has favored banks at the expense of students and taxpayers.

APRIL FOOLS: “Under a newly approved law, students will borrow money directly from the federal government rather than through a private bank.” (Rasmussen poll question #3)

It’s ridiculous to argue this is a government takeover, when the federal student loan programs are already a federal program, established and subsidized by the federal government. The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) is broken and now depends on taxpayer dollars not just for subsidies that reimburse lenders when borrowers default on loans, but also for the capital to finance their lending activity altogether.

Taxpayers now fund 8.8 of every 10 dollars in federal student lending activity. They absorb all the risk. There is simply no reason to keep pumping taxpayer dollars into a broken system when the federal government can provide the same low-cost federal loans more reliably for students and at a lower cost for taxpayers.

APRIL FOOLS: “The government says it will save billions by cutting private banks out of the student loan process. How likely is it that the government involvement will save billions of dollars?”(Rasmussen poll question #4)

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, but cutting out subsidies to big banks and switching to the cheaper Direct Loan program, the student loan reforms save taxpayers $61 billion over the 10 years. In addition to investing in college aid, these provisions will also reduce the deficit by at least $10 billion over 10 years.

How Student Aid Will Change Now That SAFRA Is Law

Direct Lending

Beginning July 1, 2010, all Federal student loans will be originated through the Direct Loan program.  Students should contact their schools with any questions.

For a 1 year period (July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011) current students who have FFEL loans with a lender and also have FFEL loans that were sold to the Department of Education, or also have Direct Loans, may choose to consolidate the loans while still enrolled in school into the Direct Loan program.  All borrowers may consolidate their loans 6 months after graduating or leaving school, regardless of the date.

Pell Grants

The maximum Pell grant award for the 2010-2011 school year will be $5,550, and increases in the maximum award will be indexed to the cost of inflation beginning in 2013.  By 2017, it is expected that the maximum grant will reach $5,975.

Income Based Repayment & Public Service Loan Forgiveness

For current students, anyone with a Federal student loan, and new borrowers between now and June 30, 2014:

The Income Based Repayment option caps student loan payments at 15% of discretionary income (adjusted gross income less 150% of the poverty level based on family size) and remaining balances will be forgiven after 25 years of repayment.  (More information on IBR from the U.S. Department of Education.)

Additionally, those serving in public service or non-profit employment are eligible to have remaining balances forgiven after 10 years of employment in an eligible occupation and repayment.  (More information on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program from the U.S. Department of Education.)

For NEW borrowers after July 1, 2014 (students who have never taken out a loan before- even if they are going back to college after a time away):

The Income Based Repayment option will cap student loan payments at 10% of your discretionary income and remaining balances will be forgiven after 20 years of repayment.

News of the Day: A Better Prognosis for Students' Finances

This morning Michelle Singletary noted in the Washington Post the many benefits for students in the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010.

She wrote:

The federal Pell Grant program will get a badly needed financial boost. The Obama administration says the new law pumps more than $40 billion into this program, which provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduates and certain graduate students.

Starting in 2013, the award will be scaled to the consumer price index, adding on a cost-of-living increase. That will raise the maximum from $5,550 to $5,975, according to CBO estimates.

Here's what really excites me. There will be additional funds for community colleges, historically black colleges and other institutions that serve minorities.

Community colleges are expected to get $2 billion over four years. Minority and historically black colleges and universities will get $2.55 billion.

It's about time community colleges got some attention and needed funds. Maybe now, these institutions will shed the reputation that they exist for the academically challenged. Maybe now they won't be seen as the "13th grade," as some people say in discouraging students from this road to higher education.

...

At least if you're stuck with the debt, provisions in the health-care law will lower the cap on monthly payments for some.

Beginning in 2014, student-loan payments under the income-based repayment plan will be capped at no more than 10 percent of a borrower's discretionary income -- the amount of a person's adjusted gross income that exceeds 150 percent of the poverty line for the family size. Payments are capped at 15 percent.

If people keep up their payments, any borrowed amount not paid after 20 years will be forgiven (down from the current 25 years). For public service workers -- teachers, nurses and those in military service -- the debt is forgiven after 10 years.

In many respects, it was quite appropriate to fold higher education provisions into the health-care reform legislation. The financial health of a lot of people has been hurt by the amount of debt they use to get an education.

Yesterday was a milestone for students and taxpayers. President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 into law.

The Denver Post reports:

President Barack Obama signed into law the last piece of his mammoth plan to overhaul health care Tuesday and, with the same pen strokes, achieved a far-reaching change in the way most Americas help pay the cost of a college education.

Both the health care provisions and revamping the loan program for college students were sandwiched into a single piece of legislation — the budget-reconciliation bill approved last week by the House and Senate.
The San Francisco Chronicle summarizes how students and taxpayers benefit from these new student loan reforms.

President Obama signed important and welcome changes to the nation's campus loan program. The reforms should save the country billions and give more students a crack at a college degree.

Why it took so long is a minor scandal. Since the 1970s, federal money was doled out to banks to lend to students. In practice, though, the banks collected a healthy fee and fobbed off the bad loans to the government. It was a no-lose deal for these lenders.

But it endured, largely through fierce lobbying from lenders such as Sallie Mae. This year, the dam broke. The Senate and House voted to put Washington in charge of the loans, a shift estimated to save $68 billion over 10 years. That will allow loan limits to rise slightly, expand Pell Grants to defray tuition bills for needy students and invest $2 billion in community colleges.

But the changes didn't come easily, despite the sustained and gallant efforts of Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez.
Which is what made the signing ceremony all that more enjoyable. The Washington Post reported on the "ebullient mood" of the signing ceremony:

Pelosi vigorously clapped back at the crowd as camera flashes popped. When Obama later singled Pelosi out, calling her "amazing," the crowd jumped to its feet again. (Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) got a standing ovation, too).
Learn more about the reforms to federal student loans as well as the fixes to the health care reform legislation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today President Barack Obama signed into law legislation that makes key improvements to the historic health reform law enacted last week, and makes the single largest investment in college aid ever, at no additional cost to taxpayers. 

News of the Day: More help for students—and more jobs

The Economic Policy Institute took a look at the recently-passed Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act in the budget reconciliation and found it would actually produce jobs in local communities.

While lenders used scare tactics about job loss to try to protect their billion dollar subsidies, EPI found that the legislation will result in more help for student and more jobs:

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will reduce bank subsidies by $61 billion between 2010 and 2019. A large share of these savings will then be used to boost financial aid for low- and middle-income borrowers.

For example, the legislation increases funding for Pell Grants by $36 billion over the next 10 years. Pell Grants are scholarships to help low- and moderate-income students pay their college costs. Sixty-two percent of dependent Pell Grant recipients come from families with incomes below $30,000 per year. Pell Grants are therefore extremely well-targeted to individuals who will rely on them to increase their spending (for textbooks, tuition, and other expenses) rather than to increase their savings.

Similar to food stamps and unemployment insurance, this spending creates demand for goods and services in local communities, and this in turn helps to create jobs. The key reason for persistently high unemployment in the United States is the lack of demand for goods and services; spending that spurs demand thus creates jobs.

The job-creating effects of the education provisions of the reconciliation legislation will likely outweigh any job loss that could result from eliminating the middlemen in the student loan programs. These reforms are clearly a win-win-win for American workers, students, and taxpayers.
(emphasis and link added)

News of the Day: College students get a boost from Congress

Yesterday, the House approved legislation that makes key improvements to the historic health reform law, and makes the single largest investment in college aid ever, at no additional cost to taxpayers.

The legislation makes health care even more affordable for the middle class, lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the “donut hole” over time, reduces the deficit and strips out special deals that favored one state over another. The bill also makes the most sweeping changes to our federal student loan program in a generation.

This morning, the Speaker of the House enrolled the bill. The package will now go to President Obama’s desk for his signature. Below are some photos of the enrollment ceremony as well as a few of a surprise birthday cake for Speaker Pelosi on her birthday.
Today, the House approved legislation that makes key improvements to the historic health reform law, and makes the single largest investment in college aid ever, at no additional cost to taxpayers. The package will now go to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

The legislation makes health care even more affordable for the middle class, lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the “donut hole” over time, reduces the deficit and strips out special deals that favored one state over another. The bill also makes the most sweeping changes to our federal student loan program in a generation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the House co-author of health insurance and student loan reforms, congratulated the Senate on passing an additional measure that improves the new health reform law and makes college dramatically more affordable. The House first passed this package on Sunday. Early this morning, the Senate made small technical changes to the bill. The House will vote later today to send this bill to President Obama for his signature. 

News of the Day: Poll - Big support for student loan change

Later today, the U.S. House of Representatives will cast a final vote on the budget reconciliation bill that will make necessary reforms to the federal student loan program. CNN polled Americans on how they felt on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

They found:

Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they favor a proposal to increase the amount of money available for college loans by allowing the government to provide those loans directly to students, according to a new poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday indicates that 64 percent of respondents favor the proposal and 34 percent opposed it.

...

The survey also indicates, to a degree, some rare bipartisan support, with a vast majority of Democrats, a solid majority of Independents, and a slight majority of Republicans favoring the proposal.
Read more about their poll and learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Yesterday, students from all over the United States rallied on Capitol Hill in favor of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act while lenders spent millions to derail these much needed reforms for students and taxpayers.

The Washington Post reports:

College students swarmed Capitol Hill on Tuesday to plead for more financial aid as private lenders made a last push to preserve their endangered role in making federal student loans.

The dueling messages sought to influence potential Senate action this week on a proposal to expand direct government lending by cutting funding for private firms that make federally guaranteed loans. Tens of billions of dollars in projected savings would flow to grants for needy students.

...

The measure would save an estimated $61 billion over 10 years by cutting out subsidies for private lenders, which the Obama administration describes as needless go-betweens, and by expanding direct government lending. It would provide $36 billion in Pell grants for students from low- and moderate-income families, including $13.5 billion to plug a shortfall this year because rising numbers of students are eligible for aid.

The United States Student Association rallied hundreds of members on Capitol Hill for the bill. They waved signs -- "Students NOT Banks!" and "$ Now!" -- and chanted slogans that underscored the fiscal straits universities face as they raise tuition. "They say, 'Cut back!' " students yelled. "We say, 'Fight back!' "

"I'm an independent student," said Sabrina Ford, 19, of Ypsilanti, Mich., a financial aid recipient in her first year at Eastern Michigan University. "If the Pell grants are cut, I have no idea how I would pay for education. Right now, I rely on myself and the government to assist me."
Learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, read Chairman Miller's condemnation of Sallie Mae's scare tactics and his comments after the House passed the bill on Sunday.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the House co-author of both health insurance and student loan reforms, released the following statement after President Obama signed the health insurance reform bill into law. This week, the Senate will vote on a second measure that will make critical corrections and improvements to what the President signed and also make the single largest investment in federal student aid ever, at no cost to taxpayers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education Committee and the author of student loan reforms that would end wasteful taxpayer subsidies for banks and instead invest that money directly in students, called out Sallie Mae for continuing to spread misinformation in an effort to kill the bill in the Senate. The House passed the legislation last night along with historic health insurance reforms; the Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week.

News of the Day: A Turning Point in the Health Care Fight

The New York Times highlights the important of including the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act in the budget reconciliation package passed by the House last night to getting both health insurance reform and the federal student loan reform done.

The New York Times says:

Lots of Democrats can point to lots of different moments when they think the health care bill was brought back from the brink of collapse.

But for a number of senior House Democrats, the crucial turning point was a meeting the night of March 9 in the offices of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It was supposed to be a strategy session with Senate Democratic leaders about the budget reconciliation procedure that Democrats were planning to use to make final changes to the health care bill and push them through the Senate on a simple majority vote.

Instead, the session focused entirely on the question of whether to include another of President Obama’s top legislative priorities — a sweeping overhaul of federal student loan programs — in the reconciliation package.

The budget resolution approved by Congress last spring provided for completing both major health care legislation and major education legislation through reconciliation, which adjusts federal policy to meet specific goals for reducing the deficit.

A trio of House leaders — Representatives James E. Clyburn, the Democratic whip; George Miller, the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee; and Xavier Becerra of California, the vice chairman of the Democratic caucus — argued strenuously in favor of including the education proposal.

...

Although overshadowed by the larger health care fight, the inclusion of the education bill may have been a decisive factor, especially at a time when House Democrats were exceedingly distrustful of their Senate colleagues and were essentially being forced against their better judgment to approve the Senate’s health care bill as the base law to which they would later make changes.

The student loan overhaul was very popular in the House. And because it would save tens of billions of taxpayer dollars by ending subsidies to private commercial banks, it offered a purely populist message at a time when public anger at Wall Street is running high and many liberals were disappointed that the health care bill would not include a public option, or government-run insurance plan.

Mr. Clyburn, who as the whip is the party’s main vote-counter, argued forcefully that the student loan measure would help generate support for the health care package.

...

For some Democrats, the student loan plan is the hidden triumph in the health care fight, and the late-night meeting earlier this month was the crucial moment. “It was an fascinating conversation about what the Democratic Party represented,” one Democrat said.

“Members of Congress have a clear choice,” Mr. Miller said in a floor speech on Sunday night. We can side with the American people by making health insurance and college more affordable and accessible, while creating millions of jobs and reducing the deficit. Or we can side with the insurance companies and the banks. That’s it. That’s the choice. I’m siding with the American people.”

Learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Historic Health Reform Approved

For the first time in America’s history, all Americans will have access to quality, affordable health care under a final package of health insurance reforms passed by the U.S. House of Representatives today. The legislation will protect Americans from the worst insurance industry practices, offer the uninsured and small businesses the opportunity to obtain affordable health care plans, cover 32 million uninsured Americans, all while reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next decade and more than a trillion dollars over 20 years. The House approved the measure by a vote of 220 to 211.

The health insurance reform package combines the best ideas from all sides of the debate, capping a year-long transparent legislative effort.  It delivers on President Obama’s key goals for health reform of slowing the growth of health costs, creating competition in the health insurance marketplace, and keeping insurers honest. It will protect people’s choices of doctors and health plans, and guarantee that every American can access quality, stable, and affordable health insurance coverage. It will rein-in the worst insurance company abuses, such as discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, policy rescissions when patients are in the middle of treatment, or insurance rate hikes without justification. Many of these protections kick in immediately; see a complete list here.
Today the U.S. House of Representatives approved a landmark measure to make college more affordable for millions of Americans, and create jobs that stay in the U.S., at no cost to taxpayers. The House passed the bill, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, by a vote of  220 to 211. The legislation makes the single largest investment in federal student aid in U.S. history, and delivers on many of President Obama’s key education initiatives. It now goes to the U.S. Senate for an up-or-down vote.

“Today Congress voted to stop wasting billions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize big banks, and start investing that money directly in our students and families. With this one move, we will help students pay for college, prepare them for our global economy, keep jobs in America and reduce the deficit,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the author of the legislation. “We are now just one step away from sending President Obama reforms that are good for students, good for taxpayers, and good for U.S. jobs.”
"Members of Congress have a clear choice.  We can side with the American people by making health insurance and college more affordable and accessible – while creating millions of jobs and reducing the deficit. Or, we can side with the insurance companies and the banks. That’s it. That’s the choice. I’m siding with the American people." – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee

Below is a copy of U.S. Rep. George Miller’s (D-CA) remarks, as prepared for delivery, during floor debate on the health insurance and student loan reform legislation. Miller is the House author of both pieces of reform.

***

Madame Speaker, I rise in support of this truly historic legislation that addresses two of America’s greatest troubles – the crushing costs and high obstacles of obtaining both quality health care and a college education.

Our nation and its economy have suffered from our longstanding failure to make health care and college accessible and affordable to all of the American people.

Americans have waited a long time for health insurance reform – nearly 100 years.

Today, Congress and President Obama will deliver on a central promise, on a dream deferred, on a crucial demand. 

Student Loan Reform: What’s In It For You?

Now more than ever, Americans need affordable, quality education opportunities to help make our economy strong and competitive again. Recognizing that young people and adults across the country are seeking out new educational opportunities in record rates, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act helps students realize their dreams of higher education by making college affordable.  By eliminating wasteful subsidies to private bankers and switching to a system of direct lending of federal student loans, SAFRA makes historic investments in our economic future by making college dramatically more affordable – at no cost to taxpayers. 

TODAY: House to Vote on Health Care and Student Loan Bill

The House will consider a bill to reform both health insurance and student loans today, March 21.  The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, a landmark measure to make college more affordable and create jobs that stay in the U.S. at no cost to taxpayers, is included in historic health care legislation.  The health insurance reform measure achieves the three key goals of affordability for the middle class, accessibility for all Americans, and accountability for the insurance industry.

As the Congress prepares to vote on the budget reconciliation bill that contains the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act this week, Newsweek is reporting that surging numbers of college applicants is putting the Department of Education under strain to fill the need for Pell Grants. The Secretary of Education says that the only way to ensure all students get what they need is to pass SAFRA.

Newsweek says:

Because of the recession and continued high jobless rates, a surge of prospective students are heading to college to gain a competitive advantage in the job market, and an unexpectedly large number of them are applying and qualifying for Pell grant money to help pay for their classes. The U.S. Department of Education says 2.6 million more people have already applied and qualified for Pell grants for fall 2010, compared with academic years before the recession began. Specifically, between fiscal year 2008 and fiscal year 2011, the number of qualified applicants has risen from 6.1 million to 8.7 million.

During a conference call with reporters late Thursday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan stressed that if the direct-student-loan bill fails to pass, there will be no way to span the gap between the money already allocated for Pell grants this fall and the increased demand for financing. The result would be that many qualified applicants would not get the maximum of $5,150 but a whittled-down check averaging $2,150.

The savings from the bill, Duncan said, could help the country “educate our way to a better economy. The downside, if we do nothing, is that as many as 8 million students will see their aid cut by as much as 50 percent. This is a huge, huge opportunity.”
Learn more how the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will affect your congressional district.

Education Reconciliation: Landmark Investments State-by-State

Now more than ever, Americans need affordable, quality education opportunities to help make our economy strong and competitive again. President Obama has identified an opportunity to make historic investments in our economic future by making college dramatically more affordable – at no cost to taxpayers.The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) embraces the president’s challenge. It will help us reach his goal of producing the most college graduates by 2020 by making the single largest investment in higher education ever.

See how SAFRA will benefit students living in each congressional district:

Alabama Alaska American Samoa
Arizona Arkansas California

Updated SAFRA Fact Sheets

Please note that original posts on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and SAFRA Myths vs. Facts were updated today.  
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A landmark measure to make college more affordable and create jobs that stay in the U.S. at no cost to taxpayers will be included in the historic health care legislation scheduled for an upcoming vote in Congress, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, announced today.  The measure represents the single largest investment in federal student aid in history, and includes many of President Obama’s key education initiatives.
A national study of student financial aid found that in 2008, two-thirds of college seniors graduated with debt averaging more than $23,000. A student loan reform bill Congress is expected to consider in the coming days would help address this, by ending wasteful subsidies to banks in the federal student loan programs and use the savings – about $68 billion according to CBO – to boost Pell Grants and help low- and middle-income students pay for college.

Over the past year of public debate, we’ve heard a lot about what banks think of these reforms. But what about students? They can’t afford powerful PR firms and lobbyists – but there’s a reason students across the country are calling for Congress to pass the bill.

News of the Day: College loan fix fits with health care reform

Chairman George Miller wrote two op-eds today about how the reforms to federal student loans fits well with the budget reconciliation and health insurance reform package being considered in Congress.

In the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Chairman Miller said:

If Congress makes the right call this week, students and taxpayers will win out.

In the coming days, the House and Senate will take a critical up or down vote on historic health insurance reforms. Tied to them will be the most significant reform of our federal student loan program in a generation. It will make federal aid more effective and cost-efficient for students, families, and taxpayers, without increasing the deficit.

Congress should support both measures.
In the San Francisco Chronicle, Rep. Miller wrote:

Our bill is good for taxpayers. It would eliminate these needless subsidies and instead have the government initiate student loans, as it does today, and private banks service them. Consider that the government now funds 88 percent of all federal student loan volume. There's simply no reason to keep giving banks a handout.

Our bill is good for students. The federal government has already proved to be a more reliable lender for students in the midst of economic instability. All of the savings generated from switching to direct lending will go to help students pay for college and reduce our deficit.

Our bill is good for jobs. It would preserve private-sector jobs by allowing banks to compete for loan servicing contracts - and could even bring overseas jobs back home. Unlike loans made by banks, direct government loans must be serviced by U.S. workers.

News of the Day: A new kind of March Madness

Gregory Cendana, President of the United States Student Association, wrote an op-ed in today's Hill about the overwhelming support for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act by students:

Students overwhelmingly support the proposal. During the 2009 National Student Congress, student aid reform was unanimously passed as a top legislative priority for the United States Student Association, which represents over 4.5 million college students. Hundreds of student governments have subsequently adopted resolutions supporting the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, and hundreds of thousands of students have contributed to a national “wall of student debt” with paper “bricks” exhibiting their personal and financial struggles to pay for college.
Those who are using the lending services to finance their education see the wisdom investing in the next generation rather than subsidizing banks.

We encourage you to read Cendana's entire op-ed as well as learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act as well as other groups that support the legislation.

News of the Day: Better student loans

The Washington Post editorial yesterday highlighted the value of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, calling it better student loans than the current option.

They fact checked two myths opponents are peddling and made a strong case for passage of SAFRA:

First, it's no government takeover. Opponents would make it appear as though Democrats want bureaucrats to destroy a functioning private market for federally backed student loans. In fact, the only reason any private company is in the business of originating such loans is because of government support, and propping up that artificial market is expensive. In the end, it's a better deal for taxpayers to have the government lend money directly to students. Private lenders, who want to preserve some role for themselves in the loan origination business, counter that they provide better services to students. But the government plans to farm out loan servicing to them through a process of competitive contracting.

Second, reconciliation, which removes the filibuster as an option and allows legislation to pass with a simple majority, has been on the record as an option for student loan reform for months. Since there can be only one reconciliation bill per budget year, the Democrats' move to add the education measure to health-care reconciliation should be no surprise. If there is a proposal tailor-made for reconciliation -- a procedure originally intended to help Congress rationalize the budget -- it is this plan to end a wasteful program of subsidies for private lenders.
Learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Chairman Miller and House leaders are working this week on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and health insurance reform.

There will also be three hearings this week on the Protecting America's Workers Act, the administration's ESEA reauthorization blueprint, and addressing the needs of diverse students.
Yesterday, Chairman Miller and Senator Harkin made a strong argument to include the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act in the budget reconciliation package.

As the New York Times reports:

Democratic Congressional leaders struck a tentative agreement on Thursday that breathes new life into President Obama’s proposed overhaul of federal student loan programs.

The deal would bundle the bill into an expedited budget package along with the Democratic health care legislation, which would allow for both measures to be passed by the Senate on a simple majority vote. Without the deal, the student loan bill would have been unlikely to pass because it lacked the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

The bill would end government payments to private, commercial student lenders, leaving the government to lend directly to students. It would also redirect billions of dollars to expand the Pell grant program for low-income students, and to pay for other education initiatives.
Politico is reporting that the loan bill could give Obama twin win. And it is a win for students, families, and taxpayers too. Chairman Miller said, "Supporting students and their families rather than banks is a win-win for our country, is a much better use of taxpayer dollars, and is helpful to passing the overall health reform bill. Sen. Harkin and I and many of our colleagues have been making the case that joining these two bills presents a remarkable opportunity for our country.”

The bill isn't finalized and faces some possible roadblocks as the LA Times and Chronicle of Higher Education report, but Chairman Miller and House Democrats are a lot more confident that the budget reconciliation will include student loan and health bills.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – News reports this afternoon indicate that Senate leaders are leaning toward including student loan reforms along with health insurance reform as part of one reconciliation package – a move that would allow Congress to take an up or down vote on legislation that would invest tens of billions of dollars in students instead of banks, without costing taxpayers a dime.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Including student loan reforms in a reconciliation package will help pass health insurance reform in Congress because it is a once-in-a generation opportunity to make historic investments in college students and families, instead of banks – and at no cost to taxpayers, said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House education committee, at a press conference on Capitol Hill today.

Miller was joined by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), the chair of the Senate education committee, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC) and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-CA), who underscored the importance of the bill for the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, because it invests billions of dollars to help low-income and minority students pay for college and graduate.

“Senators have a clear choice here: they can either continue to send tens of billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies to banks – or they can start to invest that money directly in students,” said Miller, who is the author of the student aid bill in the House. “This choice speaks to what our priorities will be for the next generation. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change Washington and do the right thing, the fair thing, and the fiscally responsible thing for hard-working families. This is very important to the members of the House Democratic Caucus.”

 
Created with flickrSLiDR.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, from his press conference on the urgent need to include student loan reform as part of the reconciliation.

News of the Day: Fact Checking Senator Lamar Alexander

Former Secretary of Education and current Senator of Tennessee, Lamar Alexander, published an op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Unfortunately, in his effort to explain why he is against something where "students are helped," Sen. Alexander gets his facts wrong.

The Wonk Room notes:

The op-ed has plenty of scaremongering about Washington takeovers and long lines for student loans, but it doesn’t acknowledge the simple fact that the government already makes millions of loans every year, in a process that does not look anything like waiting in line at the DMV. In fact, under SAFRA, student loan companies will still service and administer the loans, they just won’t take federal money and originate them. That money, instead of going to the compensation, advertising, and overhead of private companies, will be reinvested in Pell Grants and other education initiatives.
And Kevin Carey at the Quick and the Ed goes so far as to say Senator Lamar Alexander is Making Things Up regarding this bill.

In reality, getting a student loan through the Federal Direct Loan Program isn’t going be any different than it is for the millions of students who are already getting loans through the Federal Direct Loan Program, which involves filling out the same forms you use to get loans under the “give-banks-billions-of-free-taxpayer-dollars” program that Alexander is defending.

Alexander also alleges that the administration has been less than forthcoming about what’s really going on here:

Here is what they haven’t told us: The Education Department will borrow money at 2.8 percent from the Treasury, lend it to you at 6.8 percent and spend the difference on new programs. So you’ll work longer to pay off your student loan to help pay for someone else’s education — and to help your U.S. representative’s reelection.

It’s not a secret that the government will be lending money for more than that money costs. All lending programs work this way. The difference is that currently the money left over after paying people to administer the program is used to line the pockets of bank shareholders and executives whereas under Obama’s plan it will be used for Pell grants that benefit low-income students. Alexander’s contention that “you’ll work longer to pay off your student loan to help pay for someone else’s education” ignores the fact that many borrowers also receive Pell grants. Or attend the colleges that will receive grants to improve graduation rates, or have small children who will benefit from new investments in early childhood education. Alexander concedes that most people think such programs are a good idea. Otherwise, they wouldn’t help U.S. representatives get re-elected! He suggests that instead of subsidizing Pell grants, the federal government should use its unique ability to borrow cheaply to lend at extremely low rates, thus undercutting the private market for loans from companies that can’t raise money by issuing Treasury bonds. This, of course, would immediately be denounced as “socialism.”

Learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and as well as some of the facts surrounding other myths about this bill.


News of the Day: Chairman Miller on the ED show

Last night Chairman George Miller was on the ED show to talk about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.


WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a hearing on Capitol Hill today, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called on Congress to take several steps to build a lasting economic recovery by helping all students get a world-class education. In his second appearance before the House Education and Labor Committee to discuss the Obama administration’s education agenda, Duncan specifically urged lawmakers to take quick action on a bipartisan rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act – currently known as No Child Left Behind – that focuses on preparing students for the rigors of college and careers. 


WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and a key architect of the education pieces of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, issued the following statement today on the law’s one-year anniversary:
One year ago today, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was enacted with the goal of keeping our recession from turning into a deeper Depression, and saving and creating jobs. A year later, it’s clear that the Recovery Act pulled our economy back from the brink of financial collapse, protected teachers, policemen, firefighters, and other vital workers from losing their jobs, and made strategic investments in education reforms and worker training that will help lay the groundwork for a long-term economic recovery. Newspapers from coast to coast have documented how the Recovery Act has helped students, workers and families:

News of the Day: Reforming the Student Loan Mess

Chairman Miller wrote the following letter to the editor in Sunday's New York Times.

Industry Lobbying Imperils Obama Overhaul of Student Loans” (front page, Feb. 5) didn’t tell the whole story. In truth, lenders are fighting to save a system that allows them to reap billions in profits at the expense of students.

President Obama’s proposal would save taxpayers $87 billion — and redirect those funds to students instead of banks. It would make college more affordable without costing taxpayers a dime.

Lenders’ claims about job losses have proved overblown. This legislation would allow lenders to continue servicing all federal loans — ensuring high-quality customer services for borrowers and preserving jobs.

Lenders would compete for these contracts based on the quality of service they offer, including default prevention. In fact, two of the five performance criteria for current direct loan servicers — including Sallie Mae — are tied to default prevention.

It’s not news that lenders don’t like this bill, but college students overwhelmingly do. We can’t let their voices, or the points above, get drowned out by well-heeled lobbyists.

George Miller Washington, Feb. 8, 2010

The writer, a California Democrat, is the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the author of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Learn more about why the original NY Times article was inadequate, as well as the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

News of the Day: Stimulus Saved Colleges

Inside Higher Ed has an article today on the report by the State Higher Education Executive Officers. The report looks at funding levels for universities. It says:

In the 2009 fiscal year, state support for higher education fell by $2.8 billion to $77.9 billion, but an infusion of $2.4 billion in federal funds largely offset those losses.
...
Just as states were seeing revenues decline, the enrollment boom hit a record high of 10.8 million students at public institutions – an uptick of 3.4 percent between 2008 and 2009. In a predictable pattern for a recession, those students have been carrying a greater share of the cost of their education. Indeed, 37.3 percent of education revenue came from tuition in 2009 -- an increase of 2.6 percentage points in five years, the report notes.

Thanks to the backstop in federal funds, universities all over America were able to keep teaching, even with a higher enrollment.

Learn how the American Recovery and Reinvestment helped backstop education funding gaps at local and state levels allowing teachers to stay in the classrooms and students to learn.

 

Although today's hearing with the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, had to be postponed due to a blizzard in the Washington, DC area, that hasn't stopped him from making a persuasive case for passing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

In the Washington Post:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Tuesday urged the Senate to overhaul student lending, asserting that the banking industry has had "a free ride from taxpayers for too long" and that executives with lending giant Sallie Mae have enriched themselves as borrowers rack up college debt.

"Working Americans pay while bankers get rich," Duncan said in a prepared statement. "Sallie Mae executives have paid themselves hundreds of millions of dollars in the last decade while teachers, nurses, and scientists -- the backbone of the new economy -- face crushing debt because of runaway college tuition costs."

In an interview with Huffington Post:

Duncan called the administration's plans to overhaul the student loan program by ending government subsidies for private lenders "a once-in a generation, maybe once-in-a lifetime" opportunity that Congress would be foolish to let slip away.

and in that same article, Chairman Miller said:

"I haven't found one [argument from Sallie Mae's lobbyists] that made sense yet," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chair of the House Education Committee. "We are now providing 88 percent of all the capital and over the next ten years we can save 85 billion dollars doing it a different way. And that money can be used to enhance the educational opportunities of millions of students in this country. It is a no brainer."

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221) passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 253 to 171 on September 17, 2009 and is waiting in the Senate.

News of the Day: Lobbyists and Students

The New York Times editorial board seems to have been bothered by the story about how the lending industry is fighting an overhaul of student loans because they ran an editorial this morning calling for the passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

The editorial board noted:

The House version phases out the wasteful part of the federal college lending program that pays private lenders a rich subsidy to make risk-free loans that are guaranteed by the government. The bill also expands another, more reliable and less expensive federal loan program that permits students to borrow directly from the government through their colleges.

The arguments for moving in this direction are irrefutable. The subsidized program, for example, was supposed to keep loans flowing during recessions. But the loans dried up in the last credit crunch, forcing the government to rescue the program. The direct program, by contrast, suffered no such disruption. In addition to being more reliable, the direct program costs less. The Congressional Budget Office estimated last year that the country could save about $80 billion over the next decade by ending the private system and moving to the direct one.

Outmaneuvered on the merits, the lending industry has resorted to scare tactics and distortions. The claim that the direct system would amount to a government takeover of the system is absurd.
We encourage you to read the entire editorial and to learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

News of the Day: Lending Industry Fights Overhaul of Student Loans

Today's New York Times chronicles how industry lobbyists are fighting tooth and nail against overhaul of student loans, but they missed some key facts about the bill.

  • SAFRA will not lead to significant job losses. While this legislation will trim the profits of CEOs and big banks, it will not lead to significant job losses. By maintaining a servicing role for both large and smaller lenders, this bill will preserve jobs and, unlike in the FFELP program, keep them from being shipped overseas.
  • The current lending system is broken. The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) now depends on taxpayer dollars not just for subsidies that reimburse lenders when borrowers default on loans, but also for the capital to finance their lending activity altogether. Taxpayers now fund 6 of every 10 dollars in federal student lending activity. They absorb all the risk. There’s simply no reason to keep pumping taxpayer dollars into a broken system when the federal government can provide the same low-cost federal loans more reliably for students and at a lower cost for taxpayers. Under this bill, this federal program will continue to be a federal program, as it always has been, and private industry will continue to have a role, but one that is more effective and cost-efficient for families and taxpayers.
  • There would actually be fewer student loan defaults under SAFRA. Recent preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Education shows that in 2007, default rates were lower in the Direct Loan program than in FFELP. By allowing private lenders to service these loans through a competitive process, which will include default prevention strategies, this bill will ensure that more borrowers can receive service from lenders that have been effective in keeping default rates low.
  • Sallie Mae's alternative saves less and puts more money in lenders' pockets, instead of helping students.  Sallie Mae's modified student loan proposal would slash more than $8 billion off of student aid to give lenders a bonus. “You can dress this up 100 different ways and put a Santa Hat on it, but this is still the same budget gimmick lenders have been pushing for months to line their own pockets with billions of dollars that should be used to help students,” said Chairman Miller. “The House saw this proposal for what it was and soundly rejected it, instead choosing to pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which invests all of its savings in students, families and taxpayers. Americans are sick and tired of CEOs and banks taking them for a ride and are ready for policies that will reduce waste and excess and do what’s best for Main Street – not Wall Street.”

Read the SAFRA "Myth vs. Fact" page for more information about how the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will help students.

However, the New York Times article does get it right when it reports on the jaw-dropping amount of money the student lending industry is spending on lobbying to maintain the status quo:

Sallie Mae, a publicly traded company that is the nation’s biggest student lender with $22 billion in loans originated last year, led the field in spending $3.48 million in federal lobbying in 2009, an increase from $3.2 million in 2008, and other lenders spent millions of dollars more, according to an analysis prepared for The New York Times by the Center for Responsive Politics.

...

“We anticipated this,” Arne Duncan, the education secretary, said of the lending industry’s lobbying efforts. “They’ve had a sweet deal. They’ve had this phenomenal deal that taxpayers have subsidized, and that’s a hard thing to give up.”

Private lenders get a cut of the federally backed loans that they originate and service, with little risk of their own.

...

“If people want to lose $80 billion on the taxpayer’s dime for the very narrow interests of Sallie Mae, I guess they can decide that, but it makes no economic sense to me,” [Chairman George Miller] said. “They had a great ride for years.”

Key Investments in the President’s 2011 Education Budget

President Obama’s 2011 Education Budget continues an impressive funding commitment in education. His budget sends the right message about balancing incentives with resources – spurring major school improvements and providing the resources needed to make them.

The President’s proposed budget includes  a request for $49.7 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education, a $3.5 billion increase from last year’s request. It streamlines programs through consolidation and program elimination with an eye on program effectiveness. Specifically, the President’s budget will:


News of the Day: Obama wants to raise bar in education

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In today's USA Today, Greg Toppo writes that Obama wants to raise the bar of No Child Left Behind law. In the budget released yesterday, the Obama administration laid out several proposals. One was to rework the No Child Left Behind Act.

Toppo reports:

The proposal would rework the way the federal government judges public schools, scrapping a requirement that states increase the percentage of students meeting standards each year, though it allows states to set their own standards.

In its place, President Obama wants lawmakers to consider rewarding states that show progress toward internationally benchmarked, nationally developed standards.

...

Obama and Arne Duncan, his Education secretary, have long said No Child Left Behind doesn't hold states to high enough standards. On a conference call Monday, Duncan told reporters the law "often does little to reward progress" of schools that help students achieve — and lets states set standards that are too low to allow U.S. children to get into college or compete internationally.

"In too many states, those standards are too low, and the existing law doesn't provide states with incentives to raise their standards," Duncan said. "In fact, quite the opposite is true."
And the Administration has put their money where their mouth is. In the budget, they requested nearly $3 billion dollars in increased resources to help schools meet this higher standards.

About the budget request, Chairman Miller said:

I applaud the President’s continued funding commitment to early education and our K-12 schools. His budget sends the right message about balancing incentives with resources – spurring major school improvements and providing the resources needed to make them. I agree with his focus on rigorous standards, effective teachers and turning around our lowest performing schools. We will examine these and other key areas as we begin working on a bipartisan rewrite of our federal education laws.
Learn more about the Elementary and Secondary Act and the President's educational budget proposals.

News of the Day: Obama to Seek Up to $4 Billion Boost for Education

Alyson Klein at Education Week has an excellent round up of President Obama's 2011 education budget proposal:

The president’s fiscal year 2011 budget, slated to be released Monday, will seek a 6.2 percent increase to the U.S. Department of Education’s budget, including up to $4 billion more for K-12 education. The department’s discretionary budget for fiscal 2010 is roughly $63.7 billion.

A large piece of the increase, $1.35 billion, would be aimed at extending beyond this year the $4 billion in economic-stimulus program Race to the Top grants and opening up the competition—now limited to states—to school districts. The president highlighted the Race to the Top saying it had “broken through the stalemate between left and right,” and pledged to expand the reform priorities of that competition—among them turning around failing schools and increasing the supply of effective teachers—to all 50 states.

“The idea here is simple,” he said. “Instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform­—reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner cities.”

...

President Obama also called on Congress to pass legislation that would make sweeping changes to the student loan program and redirect money from the projected savings to building new school facilities and bolstering community colleges, early-childhood-education programs, and Pell Grants, which help low-income students pay for college.
Chairman Miller said after the speech:

“I am especially pleased that President Obama called on Congress to rewrite our nation’s federal education laws. The key to getting this done will be bipartisanship. I plan to begin working on this immediately with this administration, Congressman Kline, our colleagues on the House Education and Labor Committee and all parties that have ideas about how to improve our schools.

“Throughout his speech, President Obama talked about changing the way Washington works. One way we can do just that is by enacting legislation already passed by the House that would invest billions of dollars to help families pay for college – at no cost to taxpayers – by eliminating taxpayer subsidies for student loan middle men. Ending these subsidies will save $87 billion that we can invest directly in our college students and in improving early education and community colleges. It’s a much better use of taxpayer dollars.
We encourage you to read the entire Education Week article. Click on the links to learn more about the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Race to the Top, and the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

News of the Day: Student loan demand at record high

Reuters reports today that student loan demand is at a record high.

Unprecedented growth in student loans over the past two years is raising questions about whether a generation will be saddled with debt before it has even entered the workforce, according to data that the Equifax Inc credit bureau provided exclusively to Reuters.

The number of U.S. student loan accounts has risen 29 percent to 69 million over two years, according to Equifax, while balances have jumped by $105 billion to $527 billion.

"We've never seen this high student loan activity," said Dann Adams, president of Equifax's U.S. Information Systems.

The demand for student loans results from college graduates pursuing advanced degrees because of high unemployment. Also, parents' depleted savings mean more college-age children are forced to take on debt.
With this increase in student loans, students should know their loans are reliable and not subject to the whims of a volatile market. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act would do just that for federal loans.

It would convert all new federal student lending to the stable, effective and cost-efficient Direct Loan program beginning July 1, 2010. All new federal student loans would be originated through the Direct Loan program, instead of through lenders subsidized by taxpayers in the federally-guaranteed student loan program. Unlike the lender-based program, the Direct Loan program is entirely insulated from market swings and can therefore guarantee students access to low-cost federal college loans, in any economy.

Given the Reuters' report it is rather unsurprisingly that the Chronicle of Higher Education reported today that the cost of college is a big worry of freshmen according to a national survey. The Chronicle on Higher Education says:

Financial concerns, from paying for college to job prospects, dominated the new-student experience in 2009, according to an annual survey on freshman attitudes.

About two-thirds of freshmen said they were either somewhat or very worried about their ability to finance their college educations. Those citing "some" concerns about money increased about two percentage points, to 55.4 percent, while students citing "major" concerns remained at 11.3 percent, about the same as in 2008.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act would invest the bill’s savings in making college affordable and helping more Americans graduate. It would invest $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Starting in 2011, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percent. It would also strengthen the Perkins Loan program, a campus-based program that provides low-cost federal loans to students, by providing the program with more reliable forms of credit from the federal government and expanding the program to include significantly more college campuses. Finally, it would keep interest rates low on need-based – or subsidized – federal student loans by making the interest rates on these loans variable beginning in 2012. These interest rates are currently set to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in 2012.

News of the Day: Federal student financial aid application streamlined

The Washington Post covered Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Jill Biden's trip to a Washington DC high school to promote the streamlined Free Application for Federal Student Aid. These changes come, in part, as a result of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008.

Specifically, the Higher Education Opportunity Act tries to streamline the FAFSA Application Process by encouraging a reduction in the number of questions on the FAFSA form over the next five years. It further simplifies the FAFSA re-application process so that an applicant can provide updated information in subsequent years, rather than re-filing a new FAFSA form and enables the U.S. Department of Education and the Internal Revenue Service to work together to use information the government already has from applicants’ federal tax forms, such as income and asset information.

Additionally, it allows students and families to enter information and receive estimates of their Expected Family Contribution as well as their estimated federal student aid packages in the years before they fill out the FAFSA.

To help low-income families, there is now a two-page “FAFSA-EZ” form for low-income students and families who qualify for the “auto-zero” family contribution.

But the Committee has pushed for even further simplification of the FAFSA in the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR3221). This historic legislation was passed by the House in September and reduces the number of questions that a family must answer to determine a student’s financial aid eligibility.

When signed into law, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will remove asset questions.  H.R. 3221 allows the Department to replace the six current asset questions with a single “yes/no” question that most applicants will be able to answer easily.  In place of the asset questions, H.R. 3221 creates an asset cap for need-based aid above which a student is ineligible for Pell Grants and subsidized Stafford loans. The asset cap is set at $150,000 and is indexed for inflation.                                                                                

SAFRA would eliminate several items that students and families are asked to add to their income, such as child support payments received, military and clergy living allowances, and untaxed disability support.  The only items remaining that are not on the tax form are items that students and families are allowed to subtract from their incomes.  These include: combat pay, child support payments made, and scholarship aid that had been included as income on the tax form.

Learn more about the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act or see the new simplified FAFSA.
Today Secretary Arne Duncan published an editorial in the Wall Street Journal stating that banks don't belong in the student loan business. He starts by considering if every program within the Department of Education helps students learn and if it is a good use of taxpayer dollars. He says that in the case of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL), the answer is no.

He says:

Under the current FFEL program, banks make loans to students. While those students remain in school, the federal government pays the interest on their loans; otherwise the interest accrues. Once the borrowers leave school or graduate, the lending agency collects on the loans. But if the student defaults, my department pays back the loan—plus the interest owed. The FFEL program, in short, is a great deal for bankers but a terrible one for taxpayers.
Secretary Duncan goes on to explain how the Department of Education would originate the loans, but private banks would service them. That is how roughly 80% of student loans are done today. He notes that those colleges who have already moved to the Direct Loan program report that it was quick and easy. With the $87 billion in savings, the reform would substantially increase scholarships in the Pell Grant program and other financial aid for low-income students. Additionally the reforms would start new programs to raise college graduation rates and strengthen our community colleges.

We encourage you to learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and to read Secretary Duncan's editorial.

News of the Day: Prioritizing higher education in Oregon

Unlike the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, which completely missed the perspective of students, about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, OregonLive.com, Oregon's leading online news source, published a student's opinion.

Getachew Kassa, a student government officer at the University of Oregon and a USSA board member, wrote about how his university and state would be positively impacted by SAFRA in this editorial.

Mr. Kassa wrote:

Here in Oregon, the Legislature has severely cut funding for higher education over the last decade, and the Oregon Opportunity Grant received a reduction of over $10 million. Mitigating economic shortfalls on the backs of students by shifting the cost of college away from the state and onto working families is a shallow solution to a deep financial problem. Instead, the government should be investing in students, ensuring that Oregon helps meet President Barack Obama's goal of having the United States produce more college graduates than any other country by 2020.

The U.S. Congress is doing its part to meet this ambitious aim by passing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, a landmark bill that makes the greatest higher education investment in American history. This legislation, which was passed by the House of Representatives on Sept. 17, eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan Program, a wasteful government program that subsidizes private lenders to issue student loans. By cutting out banks as the unnecessary middle man, the federal government will save an estimated $87 billion over the next 10 years that will be allocated to student-friendly, need-based aid and essential access and retention programs at no new cost to taxpayers.
Learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and read what others are saying about this necessary reform.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the House passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes critical investments in education, worker training, job creation, and other priorities that will help the U.S. economy move toward recovery. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, released the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today praised new recommendations released by the Business Roundtable to create a well-educated and trained workforce as part of efforts to strengthen the nation’s economic recovery and competitiveness.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran a favorable editorial yesterday about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Unlike the Wall Street Journal's editorial yesterday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette focused on how this bill will make college more affordable for students.

This bill would take the middle man - banks and private lenders - out of federally guaranteed student loans. Right now, the U.S. Education Department makes some student loans directly, but the rest - worth millions of dollars each year - are made by private lenders, who then receive government subsidies for doing so. Eliminating those payments will save $87 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, so the bill will pay for its other provisions.

More help then will be available to more students. Over the next 10 years, $40 billion would be invested in building up the government's Pell grants, need-based scholarships that do not have to be repaid, so the maximum award available could go up annually, to keep pace with rising college costs.

The bill also would allow an additional $6 billion for Perkins low-cost, low-interest loans, thus reducing the number of students who would have to take out private educational loans, which have higher interest rates.
Investing savings into increasing Pell grants and Perkins loans is only one part of this reform. Learn more about additional investments in community colleges, early learning, energy efficient schools and deficit reduction in the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Improving Our Competitiveness: Common Core Education Standards

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, December 8, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Tuesday, December 8, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to learn more about states’ efforts to help improve the nation’s competitiveness by adopting a common core of college and career readiness standards. To date, 48 states have joined the initiative.

Setting the record straight: WSJ misses the boat on SAFRA

Today the Wall Street Journal Opinion section missed the boat about the bipartisan effort to transform the way federal student loan programs operate via the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. For example, they claim that this reform is a government takeover of student lending. The fact is that the federal student loan programs are already a federal program, established and subsidized by the federal government.

CLAIM: “The pending bill, which has passed the House but is stalled in the Senate, would ban private lenders from making federally guaranteed loans after July 1, 2010.”

FACT: The financial crisis has already caused many lenders to leave the federal student loan programs, leaving many students in a bind. The Direct Loan program provides the same low-cost loans to students as FFELP, with the added benefit of complete reliability, even in an economic crisis. And the bill will foster competition among lenders by allowing private companies to compete for bids to service these loans – ensuring that contracts are awarded to lenders who offer the best customer service and innovations for borrowers. This is competition that will help students and build on the best of what private industry can offer to borrowers.

News of the Day: Paying for college

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an editorial earlier this week highlighting the increasing debt students take on while paying for college. They singled out the reforms under the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act passed by the House of Representatives in September as being key to reducing that debt.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said:

The bill that was passed by the House in September would provide about $80 billion over 10 years for President Obama's education initiatives. About $40 billion would go to the federal Pell grants program, which provides scholarships for low- and moderate-income students.

...

Community colleges would get as much as $12 billion to help prepare a more skilled workforce. At a time when many two-year colleges have seen their funding slashed, the additional funding would provide for job training and capital projects on campuses.

Nationally, community colleges enroll more than six million students. Many, including those in the Philadelphia region, have seen tremendous enrollment growth during the recession and also need additional funding.

Obama's education plan would also pour about $8 billion into early childhood programs, which in recent years have taken a backseat on the public-education agenda. America's historically black colleges and universities would also get $2.5 billion.
We encourage you to read the entire editorial, learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and join the Facebook page.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), the chairmen of the House and Senate Education Committees, today said that a modified student loan proposal Sallie Mae is pushing would slash more than $8 billion off of student aid to give lenders a bonus.

“You can dress this up 100 different ways and put a Santa Hat on it, but this is still the same budget gimmick lenders have been pushing for months to line their own pockets with billions of dollars that should be used to help students,” said Miller. “The House saw this proposal for what it was and soundly rejected it, instead choosing to pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which invests all of its savings in students, families and taxpayers. Americans are sick and tired of CEOs and banks taking them for a ride and are ready for policies that will reduce waste and excess and do what’s best for Main Street – not Wall Street.” 
Today, the Project on Student Debt released a report, “Student Debt and the Class of 2008,” providing state-by-state data on the amount of debt college students amassed. Overall, it found that "student debt continued to rise even as it got harder for recent graduates to find jobs, and that debt levels vary considerably from state to state and college to college. Nationwide, average debt for graduating seniors with loans rose from $18,650 in 2004 to $23,200 in 2008, or about six percent per year. State averages for debt at graduation in 2008 ranged from highs near $30,000 to a low of $13,000. High-debt states are concentrated in the Northeast, while low-debt states are mostly in the West. At the college level, average debt varied even more, from $5,000 to $106,000. Colleges with higher tuition tend to have higher average debt, but there are many examples of high tuition and low average debt, and vice versa."

As Committee Member, Dina Titus of Nevada, says, “A higher education is vital to the future success of our nation’s young adults, and in order to attract good jobs of tomorrow to Nevada, we must have an educated workforce that is prepared to get the job done. The actions the House has taken this year will go a long way toward lowering the cost of college and reducing the burden on our students and their families.”

So far this year, the House of Representatives has taken a number of steps to bring down the cost of a college education and reduce the amount of debt students and their families face. In September, the House passed the single largest investment in aid to help students and families pay for college. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act reforms the federal student loan system, saving taxpayers $87 billion. Of that savings, $10 billion goes toward deficit reduction and $77 billion goes toward making college more affordable through investments in Pell Grants, college access and completion support programs, and community colleges.

On July 1, a number of new benefits took effect to make college more affordable. Interest rates on subsidized federal student loans decreased from 6 percent to 5.6 percent. This was the second of four annual cuts to this rate, and it will continue to drop until it reaches 3.4 percent in 2011. Under the Income-Based Repayment program, borrowers’ monthly loan payments can be capped at 15 percent of their discretionary income.

Finally, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February, the maximum Pell Grant Award was increased by $500 to $5,350 for 2009-2010 and to $5,550 for 2010-2011.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) today joined U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in urging college campuses to take prudent action to ensure that their students continue to have access to stable, low-cost federal college loans, regardless of what happens in the economy. Their letter to college presidents echoes a letter Duncan sent to institutions last month.

 

News of the Day: Public college costs rising faster than private

Today's Washington Post highlights a new study by the College Board on college pricing and student aid. It notes that:

Colleges and universities have not slashed sticker prices in response to the economic downturn. On the contrary, tuition and fees rose 6.5 percent at public four-year colleges compared with the 2008-2009 school year and 4.4 percent at private, nonprofit, four-year institutions. Those were steeper rates of increase than in prior years, after adjusting for inflation. Over the past decade, annual increases have averaged 4.9 percent at public colleges and 2.6 percent at private colleges.
It is clear that students and families are increasingly relying on Pell Grant scholarships and other forms of federal student aid to help pay for college. While college tuition prices continued to increase at rates consistent with years past, students had greater access to reliable low-cost federal loans and grant aid. The report also shows that private student loan borrowing decreased by 50 percent from one year earlier, in part due to the freezing of the credit markets.

As Chairman Miller said, “Although paying for college remains far too expensive a burden for families, especially in this economy, this report shows that our work to help make college more affordable is paying off.”

The House recently passed legislation that would make a landmark $40 billion investment to boost the Pell Grant over the next 10 years, to stabilize access to low-cost federal student loans, to strengthen Perkins loans, and do much more to make college more accessible at no cost to taxpayers. This report confirms that these types of investments, coupled with our ongoing efforts to reduce students’ dependence on costlier private loans, are needed to provide relief to families in a difficult economy.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Students and families are increasingly relying on Pell Grant scholarships and other forms of federal student aid to help pay for college, a new report released today by the College Board shows. While college tuition prices continued to increase at rates consistent with years past, students had greater access to reliable low-cost federal loans and grant aid. The report also shows that private student loan borrowing decreased by 50 percent from one year earlier, in part due to the freezing of the credit markets.

“Although paying for college remains far too expensive a burden for families, especially in this economy, this report shows that our work to help make college more affordable is paying off,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “The financial roller coaster of the last year revealed deep weaknesses in the private financing of student loans. The good news is, thanks to swift action by Congress to safeguard federal student loans, families still had access to college aid during the worst moments of this economic monsoon.

“This report also shows that, for the second year in a row, more students are relying on the Pell Grant scholarship than ever before. If we’re serious about reversing the trends that have made too many students a part of ‘generation debt’, we have to continue to restore the purchasing power of the Pell Grant. The House recently passed legislation that would make a landmark $40 billion investment to boost the Pell Grant over the next 10 years, to stabilize access to low-cost federal student loans, to strengthen Perkins loans, and do much more to make college more accessible at no cost to taxpayers. This report confirms that these types of investments, coupled with our ongoing efforts to reduce students’ dependence on costlier private loans, are needed to provide relief to families in a difficult economy.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), issued the following statement after the National Assessment Governing Board released its report on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), which measures the performance of fourth and eighth grade students in math. The report, “The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2009,” studies student achievement in mathematics at the state and national level. The report shows eighth grade students made gains in math, while fourth grade students made no significant improvements from 2007 to 2009 for the first time since 1990.

Ensuring Student Eligibility Requirements for Federal Aid

Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee Hearing 10:00 AM, October 14, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, DC
On Wednesday, October 14, the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competiveness will hold a hearing to examine how non-profit and for-profit colleges and universities administer and enforce student eligibility requirements for federal financial aid programs.

News of the Day: Time to streamline student lending

Joining the growing chorus of newspapers in support of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul wrote this morning that it is time to streamline student lending.

They said:

The historic legislation, championed by President Obama and approved by the U.S. House earlier this month, is a rare and welcome chance for Congress to actually streamline government instead of just talking about it. If approved by the Senate, the Student Loan and Fiscal Responsibility Act could save taxpayers $47 billion to $87 billion over the next 10 years by eliminating the middleman role private lenders play in federal education loans.

Families who now get their Stafford or parental PLUS loans through banks or credit unions or nonprofits such as Sallie Mae would instead borrow directly from the federal government, working through school financial aid offices just as they do now.

The Star-Tribune is another important voice in support of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. Be sure to read other editorials and articles that explain the benefits to students and taxpayers through federal student loan reform.

News of the Day: Smart move

On Sunday the Houston Chronicle ran an editorial applauding the passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act through the House of Representatives.

The editorial started:

It was a blessed relief last week, in the thick of such intractable issues as health care and Afghanistan, to see the House of Representatives pass a piece of legislation that was urgently needed, made perfect sense and — mirabile dictu — could save taxpayers billions of dollars.

Members approved a bill that would end subsidies to private lenders who currently finance college loans, putting the government directly in charge. This significant measure, a longtime goal of Democrats, would save taxpayers about $87 billion over the next decade, estimates the Congressional Budget Office.

Those savings would be used to boost student grants, improve early education and pre-school programs, support community colleges and modernize public schools.

The Houston Chronicle points out that this is something needed by students because enrollment in both four-year and community colleges is expanding. 

Democrats had been working for years to pass legislation curbing subsidies to lenders. Now, with a Democrat-controlled House, and with banks pretty much in the doghouse, the measure passed the House roughly along party lines, 253–171, with only four Democrats voting against and six Republicans in favor.

It is yet to be seen how the bill will fare in the Senate, but for now, it spells good news for students and taxpayers — especially in Texas, where, as reported by the Chronicle's Jeannie Kever, post-high school students have enrolled in record numbers for the current school year, in spite of concerns that the recession would dissuade many of them from entering college.

Community colleges told Kever that enrollment had “skyrocketed,” and preliminary data from four-year colleges show enrollment has increased in many of them too, assuaging fears that more students might opt for the cheaper community colleges.
We suggest you learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and read the entire editorial.

News of the Day: What Do Students Think About Student Loan Reform?

| Comments (2)
Student Lending Analytics Blog asks the question, "What Do Students Think About Student Loan Reform?" and does a quick overview of editorial pages of college newspapers from coast to coast. Here is what they found:

  • The Maine Campus (University of Maine):  "We applaud the representatives who passed what amounts to the largest higher education aid reform bill of our lives. We hope the Senate follows suit."
  • The Daily Cardinal (Stanford University):  "The bill will help students graduate with less debt while saving taxpayers money. Such action is wise and long overdue."
  • The Lariat online (Baylor University):   "Though the opposition may see this as just another area overtaken by the federal government that may lead to job loss through the industry or a burden on universities during the transition out of their respective federal lending programs, it is a risk and a burden well worth shouldering."
  • Daily Pennsylvanian (University of Pennsylvania):  "Private lenders have shown that they are more trouble than they are worth, and redirecting the savings into expanding grants to students is an excellent, efficient redistribution of resources. We hope the House passes this bill."
  • Georgetown Voice (Georgetown University):  "It is essential that the Senate passes this bill. As Hoyas who claim to strive for a diverse community, we must lend our support to initiatives like this, which are crucial to enabling people from every background to come here."
  • The Daily Reveille (LSU):  "It’s finally time for banks to get their hands out of private education...Banks should not be in the business of profiting off the loans of students seeking the critical skills needed to compete in a global economy.  Higher education deserves better. Our nation’s undergraduates deserve every chance to succeed in America, and thus to make America succeed with them."
  • Indiana Daily Student (University of Indiana):  "This bill decreases government bureaucracy, increases efficiency, wastes fewer taxpayer dollars and stops payouts to financial institutions for doing absolutely nothing but shifting their losses onto taxpayers. What’s not to love?"
Most telling is what happened when they went searching for collegiate opponents.

It is somewhat curious that if you Google  "students who support FFELP" you will get the following message:  No results found for "students who support FFELP".
Learn why college and university papers from coast to coast support the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today praised the House Judiciary Committee for holding a hearing to examine the need to allow Americans to discharge their private student loans in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy legislation enacted by President Bush in 2005 severely limits individuals in bankruptcy from discharging the college loans they borrow from for-profit lenders. Miller, the author of a 2008 law that provided new consumer protections to private student loan borrowers, said that Congress should reexamine this unfair policy as it considers larger changes to the larger financial system and the credit markets.

“I want to thank Chairman Cohen and the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law for examining this critical issue that affects student loan borrowers past, present and future – many of whom are struggling more than ever to make ends meet. I also want to commend Rep. Danny Davis, a former member of my committee, who has been fighting for years to correct this injustice.

“Today, Americans who file for bankruptcy face significant obstacles in discharging private student loans, obstacles they do not face with respect to other type of consumer debt – credit card debt, car loans, and mortgage and utility bills. Due to provisions that were quietly slipped into a 2005 bankruptcy law, individuals who borrow college loans from private lenders find it almost impossible to wipe out those loans in bankruptcy – a change that gives special treatment to lenders and levies a devastating penalty on students.

News of the Day: A Political Idea Warp

E.J. Dionne's commentary in the Washington Post today, A Political Idea Warp, makes the point that sometimes political labels are less than helpful in evaluating various proposals before Congress. He uses the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act as an example.

The bill, which passed 253 to 171, would allocate about $80 billion over the next decade for new loans, community colleges, school construction and early childhood programs without increasing taxes or adding to the deficit. How? Instead of paying bankers to provide loans for which they bear no real risk, the government would make the loans directly.

Liberals are always accused of spending money without worrying where it comes from, but in this case, costs are covered by making a government program more efficient -- yes, at the expense of bankers.

"We were paying these exorbitant subsidies to bankers who were taking government money, loaning it to somebody else, getting government guarantees that the loans would be paid back, and then taking all these profits," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the bill's champion. This, he told me, led Congress to ask itself: "Hey, chump, what is it you don't get about what's going on here?" The only knock on the proposal is ideological: that government is "taking over" the student loan program. But it's already a government program. The bill simply eliminates corporate welfare.

This is a classic case of how the Great Ideological Distortion Machine does its mischief: Instead of focusing on how the bill advances values typically regarded as "centrist" -- government efficiency, pay-as-you-go budgeting -- the banks' defenders bury the specifics behind abstract discussions of "big government." Yet I'd venture that middle-of-the-road Americans prefer that their tax money go toward education rather than to padding the profits of financial firms.
Mr. Dionne also remarks about how this talk over labels and "prefabricated boxes" is coloring the health care debate. We encourage you to read the entire article.

High School/College Dual Enrollment Programs

Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Hearing 1:00 PM, September 18, 2009 Northbank Center Ballroom, University of Michigan, 432 North Saginaw Street
Fint, Michigan

Video from yesterday's floor debate on SAFRA

This afternoon, the House passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221) by a vote of 253-171. The bill ensures that higher education is more affordable at no additional expense to taxpayers – in fact, it saves money. More students will go to college, they will graduate with less debt, and the federal loan initiatives that they and their families depend upon will be strengthened for decades to come. The legislation will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next 10 years that will be used to increase Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, and safeguard federal student loan access for families.

Speaker Pelosi:

Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA):

Chairman Miller:
“My colleague on the other side of the aisle said that this legislation is the wrong way and the wrong place to make this investment. He’s got it exactly backwards. This is the exact way to make this investment. To take the savings by cutting the subsidies to the lenders and recycling those on behalf of families and students and our community institutions so that we can expand the educational opportunities in this country. we cannot continue just to wring our hands about our competitive place in the world..we must do something about it.”

Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX):

Hinojosa:
“The legislation will increase affordability, accessibility and college completion rates particularly for first generation college low-income, minority and middle-class students. It invests $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarships to $5,550 by 2010 and 2019, $6,900 and provides low and middle income families with affordable, direct federal student loans and simplifies the application process for financial aid.”

Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ):

Andrews:
“The issues before the House tonight are these. Do you agree or disagree that the time has come to make college more affordable for men and women around this country by making Pell Grant scholarships more available, student loans less expensive and more available? I think most people would say, yes, we do agree with that.”

Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) on the investments the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act makes to community colleges:

Chu:
“As a Professor for over 20 years, I know firsthand how important community colleges are to helping hard working Americans achieve their dreams. About one out of every two college students attends a community college and they are some of the hardest workers I have ever met. My students came from all walks of life - they were immigrants, single moms and laid-off workers and many of the students were the first in their families to go to college. Community colleges are the backbone of our nation’s workforce.”

Chairman Miller responds to criticism of the bill and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) explains how this legislation reforms student loan practices for the benefit of both the taxpayer and the borrower:

Bishop:
“What we are doing is we are paying private lenders a subsidy so that they will have the privilege of lending federally originated money to their borrowers. We guarantee repayment of that money to the tune of 97% of the amount outstanding and the private lenders reap whatever interest payments are paid by the borrowers. This is a really, really good deal for private lenders. It is a deal that costs the American taxpayer approximately $8 billion to $9 billion a year that we don’t need to spend in that fashion. We can provide, We, the federal government, can provide the loan capital that students need.”

Chairman Miller on Bloomberg TV after passage of SAFRA

Chairman Miller appeared on Bloomberg TV to talk about House passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act by a bipartisan vote of 253 to 171. He highlighted how the bill:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable for millions of Americans, at no new cost to taxpayers, overwhelming passed the U.S. House of Representatives today.

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221), which was approved by a bipartisan vote of 253 to 171, will move the U.S. closer to reaching President Obama’s goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

It will generate almost $90 billion in savings over the next ten years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, create a more reliable and effective financial aid system for families, and enact President Obama’s key education initiatives. The legislation represents the greatest investment in federal student aid in history, and is one of President Obama’s three top domestic policy priorities, along with energy and health care.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, during House consideration of H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

***

I rise today in support of H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, a bill that will be transformative for our children, our economy, and our future.

Like President Obama’s other two pillars for economic growth – health reform and energy –this bill is about the future.

As he recently said: “In a world where countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow, the future belongs to the nation that best educates its people.”

The legislation before us takes that challenge seriously.

News of the Day: Someday, a Bill Will Pass

Today Gail Collins in the New York Times writes an editorial about how the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act makes sense and is needed for today's American students:

Let us stop here and recall how the current loan system works:

1) Federal government provides private banks with capital.

2) Federal government pays private banks a subsidy to lend that capital to students.

3) Federal government guarantees said loans so the banks don’t have any risk.

And now, the proposed reform:

1) The federal government makes the loans.

....

If it all works out, Congress will have come a way toward fixing this problem, at least when it comes to federally financed student loans. There’s already a new law that forgives part or all of the debt for graduates who go into careers in public service. Terms will be easier for low-income debtors.

The House will vote on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act today. Stay tuned to our Twitter feed for updates on the debate and the vote.
Both the New York Times and the Washington Post editorial boards called for Congress to pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, H.R. 3221, this morning.

The New York Times said:

Congress has a chance, starting this week, to end the boondoggle that allows private lenders to earn a handsome subsidy for making risk-free student loans that are guaranteed by the federal government. It’s a wonderful deal for the lenders — and an emphatically bad one for the taxpayers.

The House is expected to vote on Thursday on a bill that would simplify the loan system — and save the country nearly $90 billion over the next decade — by ending the subsidy program and allowing students to borrow directly from the government through their colleges and universities. To get this done, however, lawmakers will need to see through the spin and misrepresentations that have become all too common lately.

...

Lawmakers need to put aside all the noise and pass this bill.
The Washington Post said:

EXCEPT FOR a lucky few, paying for college isn't easy. Judging from how long it has taken, neither is reforming how the government provides the loans that make higher education affordable to millions. Yet Wednesday, as the House considers a bill that promises to save taxpayers billions of dollars, it's clear that the right choice is to vote yes.

Historically, the government has kept student-loan interest rates low through two programs: one in which the feds do the lending directly; and one in which the government subsidizes private entities that offer students loans at low, set interest rates. For more than a decade, private lenders fought back attempts to end the expensive subsidy system that kept them profitable at taxpayer expense. Then came the financial crisis, during which the public-private system fell apart, and the election of President Obama, who is intent on getting rid of the private middlemen.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), if the government directly financed all federally sponsored student loans, it would save $80 billion over 10 years. House Democrats have advanced a version of the president's plan that will probably get a vote in the House Thursday; the measure would put those savings into a range of worthy programs, from aid for community colleges to school renovation to larger Pell grants.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will be considered on the House floor today and tomorrow. Stay tuned for updates.

Chairman Miller's Day of Action

Tuesday was a jammed packed day for George Miller on health reform and college affordability. Starting at 9 am, he co-chaired a forum on health insurance reform, attended a Democratic Caucus on health care with President Obama’s senior advisor, held a rally with college students and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3221), took calls with reporters and editorial boards across the country, and appeared before the House Rules Committee to get the bill on the House Floor.  The bill will be debated Wednesday and voted on Thursday.  It was a very good day for the interests of American consumers and families.

Below is a slideshow of his very busy day of action:


Created with flickrSLiDR.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, for a press conference on H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

***

Good afternoon. I’d like to thank U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Reps. Tom Petri, Tim Bishop, Ruben Hinojosa, and all our colleagues for joining us today.

I’d especially like to thank all the students for coming, and Jelisa Difon who will be sharing her story with us shortly.

We are here today under very exciting circumstances.

Over the next several days, the House will consider – and I believe will overwhelmingly pass – legislation that will be transformative for our students, families and taxpayers.

News of the Day: Early childhood programs pay off

The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star wrote an editorial last week about the importance of investing in early learning.

Pay heed to local hard-headed law enforcement professionals who deal with the worst that society has to offer on a daily basis.

Speaking out in support of increased funding for early childhood education this week were Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady, Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey and his chief deputy Joe Kelly.

"It's a concept that makes complete sense to all of us in this line of work," Kelly said. "The mission is validated by research."

Studies show a return of as much as $13 for every dollar invested in care and learning systems for disadvantaged children, according to Jen Hernandez of the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.

The return comes in the form of savings in the cost of operating the criminal justice system, welfare, schools and other public systems. Research shows that participants in early childhood programs are as much as 29 percent more likely to graduate from high school and 40 percent less likely to repeat grades or be placed in special education.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will invest $1 billion each year in competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high quality early learning systems for children birth to age 5. It will also:

  • Build an effective, qualified, and well-compensated early childhood workforce by supporting more effective providers with degrees in early education and better compensation, and providing sustained, intensive, classroom-focused professional development to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood providers
  • Best practices in the classroom by implementing research-based early learning and development standards aligned with academic content standards for grades K-3.
  • Promote parent and family involvement by developing outreach strategies to parents that will help them support their children’s development.
  • Fund quality initiatives that improve instructional practices, programmatic practices, and classroom environments that promote school readiness.
  • Quality standards reform that moves toward pre-service training requirements for early learning providers, and adoption of developmentally appropriate standards for teacher-child ratios and group size.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will be on the House floor for debate and a vote this week. Learn more about it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement after Vice President Joe Biden delivered a speech on college affordability and urged Congress to pass the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. The legislation passed the House Education and Labor Committee in July with bipartisan support and is expected to be considered by the House of Representatives in September.
CNN highlights a report (PDF) by The Project on Student Debt that found "an increasing number of college students are turning to private loans -- one of the riskiest ways to pay for schooling." Additionally, "of those who borrowed privately, [they] did not take full advantage of what it called safer and more affordable federal loans."

Private loans are often riskier because they have variable interest rates and cannot be discharged via bankruptcy. Nor are they eligible for payment deferments, loan forgiveness programs or income-based repayment options, like those that began on July 1, 2009.

Americans need affordable, quality education opportunities to help make our economy strong and competitive again. President Obama has identified an opportunity to make historic investments in our economic future by improving early education opportunities and making college dramatically more affordable – and all at no cost to taxpayers.

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act would do just that:

  • Invests $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Starting in 2011, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percent.
  • Strengthens the Perkins Loan program, a campus-based program that provides low-cost federal loans to students, by providing the program with more reliable forms of credit from the federal government and expanding the program to include significantly more college campuses.
  • Keeps interest rates low on need-based – or subsidized – federal student loans by making the interest rates on these loans variable beginning in 2012. These interest rates are currently set to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in 2012.
  • Converts all new federal student lending to the stable, effective and cost-efficient Direct Loan program. Beginning July 1, 2010, all new federal student loans will be originated through the Direct Loan program, instead of through lenders subsidized by taxpayers in the federally-guaranteed student loan program. Unlike the lender-based program, the Direct Loan program is entirely insulated from market swings and can therefore guarantee students access to low-cost federal college loans, in any economy.
  • Provides all federal student loan borrowers with upgraded, modern, state-of-the-art customer service. Rather than force private industry out of the system, the bill will forge a new public-private partnership that provides all borrowers with the highest-quality customer service when repaying their loans and maintains jobs. It will establish a competitive bidding process that allows the U.S. Department of Education to select lenders based on how well they serve borrowers, educate them financially, and prevent loan defaults. It will provide a role for non-profits to continue servicing student loans.

We encourage you to learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, read CNN's article and The Project on Student Debt's report (PDF).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today released the following statement on the death of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Shriver founded the Special Olympics and was a lifelong advocate for people with intellectual disabilities.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Ted Kennedy, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, and the entire Kennedy family on this difficult day. Today, we mourn the loss of a leader who inspired and changed the lives of millions of Americans. When Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the Special Olympics, she gave thousands of people with disabilities the opportunity to participate in sports when others thought it impossible. In recent years, Mrs. Shriver was instrumental in our efforts to ensure equal college opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities as part of a larger 2008 law that reformed our higher education programs for students and families. Mrs. Shriver dedicated her life to opening up new possibilities for every American living with a disability -- making enormous strides toward true equality for our country. We will honor her incredible spirit as we work to build on her legacy to ensure that Americans with disabilities have equal rights and opportunities to pursue their dreams.”

 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Department of Veterans Affairs and the state of California announced an agreement about how tuition and fees at the state’s public colleges and universities are determined that will ensure that veterans who attend any college in California are able to receive the full amount of financial aid they are eligible for under the new GI Bill – and that veterans in other states receive. The agreement was reached after the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee passed a similar fix as part of a larger bill to make college more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans.

“The men and women who have made enormous sacrifices to serve our country deserve every opportunity to get a good education when they return home,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “This common-sense change will help them do just that. I applaud Secretary Shinseki, the Obama administration, and the state of California for taking action to ensure that veterans can receive the full amount of financial aid they are eligible for this coming year, regardless of what type of college they attend. Making sure that veterans who want to attend college in California can afford to do so is the right thing to do for our students, our university system, local economies throughout our state, and our competitive future.”

BACKGROUND

The new GI Bill authorizes the VA to pay the actual tuition and fees charged by a college for up to the maximum in-state tuition and fees charged by the most expensive public university in the state.

Students attending college in California would have been adversely affected by this calculation because the state’s public schools are barred from using the word “tuition” and instead must use the word “fees” when describing an institution’s cost. Therefore, a veteran who attends a private college in California would have received a much lower tuition benefit under the GI Bill than veterans at private schools in other states.

This new agreement will allow for the bulk of California’s “fees” to be characterized as “tuition” for the purposes of paying for the cost at private colleges – removing any unfair penalty that could reduce aid for veterans.

###

News of the Day: Political Economy: Logic Prevails

CQ Politics ran John Cranford's column yesterday explaining the logic behind the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Two weeks ago, the House Education and Labor Committee, with the strong encouragement of the Obama administration, took a step toward ending the false premise that private lenders are full partners in the federally subsidized college loan program. If a bill approved by the committee becomes law, private lenders will be cut out of this program and will have to stop dining at their taxpayer-provided trough.
....
The lenders have held up the pretense that they provide better service than does an arm of the federal government and that there are actually differences among bank loans, so that students stand to benefit by picking one over the other.

Sorry, but that notion is a sham. Congress has long required that the terms of these loans be identical, regardless of whether they are issued by the government or a private lender. It doesn’t matter to the student where the money comes from — the dollar amounts, the interest rates and even the repayment terms are virtually the same.

For taxpayers, though, there is a difference, and it’s a big one. In the case of presumed “private” loans, the government pays more than it does for “direct” loans — billions of dollars more — because it guarantees the principal amount and it promises a minimal return to the lender. Banks are supposed to be compensated for taking risks, but in the case of government-subsidized student loans, they incur almost no risk. Yet they get compensated anyway.

Moreover, there’s ample evidence that some private lenders have engaged in questionable or worse behavior to persuade colleges to funnel student borrowers their way. When money is free, people will do all sorts of things to get their hands on it. And that raises questions about why lawmakers would want to perpetuate a system that promotes graft, as well as waste.
Learn more about the benefits of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and read Mr. Cranford's complete column.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today House Republicans once again proved that they’re more committed to finding cheap budgetary tricks that will help them score political points than having a meaningful, honest debate about legislation that will help students and parents pay for college.

For the second time in two days, Republicans asked the Congressional Budget Office to manipulate an analysis of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (H.R. 3221), a bill that will invest almost $90 billion in additional student aid for families and pay down the deficit – and at no cost to taxpayers.

News of the Day: More Scare Tactics from Opponents of SAFRA

Stephen Burd at The Higher Ed Watch Blog has a very thorough post about some of the scare tactics from opponents of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.Opponents have said that despite the $40 billion dollar increase to Pell Grants, it is a "setback for students" because it removes "the ability for borrowers to choose a lender."

As Mr. Burd so elegantly points out:

If there is anything that we learned from the "pay for play" student loan scandal, it is how little choice borrowers in the FFEL program actually have. Don't forget that in 2007, the Education Department found that one lender made at least 80 percent of students' federal loans at 921 participating colleges. That same year, the research firm Student Marketmeasure reported that 1,412 FFEL schools had one loan provider that made 80 percent of their students' federal loans, with 531 of those colleges recommending only a single lender to their students. What kind of a choice is that?

and as Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY), a former Provost of Southampton College where he worked for 29 years, said at the markup of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, "I never once encountered a student who was focused on choice. What they were focused on was 'Can I get the money?' and 'Can you guarantee me that I can get the money?'"

We encourage you to read Mr. Burd's complete post as well as learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in a desperate attempt to confuse the American people about a landmark bill to make college more affordable and reduce the deficit, Republican lawmakers deliberately asked the Congressional Budget Office to ignore current student loan market conditions and standard scoring methods. Republicans in the House and Senate released a manipulated analysis they requested from CBO that uses a methodology preferred by banks, and does not take into account the changed landscape of the student loan market, under which the federal government now finances 60 percent of all federal student loan activity.

The analysis does not change the official score of the bill, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, which estimates that it will save $87 billion over 10 years, or the fact that it is fiscally responsible. All of those savings will be invested in additional aid to help student and families pay for college, to improve early learning opportunities for young children, and to pay down the deficit.

News of the Day: The Student Loan Scam

Yesterday the New York Times published an editorial about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act entitled, "The Student Loan Scam." The lede says:

The federal college loan program that pays private lenders a generous subsidy to make loans that are guaranteed by the government is an enormous waste of money that has long served more to enrich lenders than to help students.
That is why the Education and Labor Committee passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act with bipartisan support yesterday. As the New York Times editorial explains:

[It] would end the unnecessary private lending subsidies and plow the savings into important education programs. The bill, for example, devotes $40 billion to the all-important Pell grant program, which has allowed millions of poor and working-class students to attend college.

It would spend $8 billion on early-education programs and $10 billion on an initiative aimed at strengthening community colleges. It sets aside $4 billion for a school modernization and improvement program.

The consolidated program proposed in the bill would in no way expand government. The loans would be handled through colleges. They would be serviced and collected by private companies and nonprofits that are already lining up to get the work. By forcing the companies to compete, and to undergo periodic re-evaluations, Congress could get a good deal for taxpayers and better service for borrowers.
Learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act and read the entire New York Times' editorial.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable for millions of Americans, at no new cost to taxpayers, was approved today by the House Education and Labor Committee by a bipartisan vote of 30 to 17. The full House of Representatives will vote on the bill next.

The legislation, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next ten years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, create a more reliable and effective financial aid system for families, and enact President Obama’s key education priorities.
 

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009

Full Committee Markup 11:00 AM, July 21, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
Bill is the single largest investment in higher education in history

On Tuesday, July 21st, the House Education and Labor Committee will consider legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable by investing billions of dollars in additional student aid, at no cost to taxpayers. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next ten years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, safeguard federal student loan access for families, and enact President Obama’s key education priorities. The legislation, which was introduced earlier today, pays for itself by making the federal student loan programs more reliable, effective and cost-efficient for students, families and taxpayers.

For more information on the legislation, click here.

H.R. 3221 - The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 was reported favorably to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and that the Committee authorize the Chairman to transmit the bill, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, to the Committee on Budget in compliance with Section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as the first part of this committee’s recommendations, pursuant to the reconciliation instruction in S. Con. Res. 13 by a vote of 30 to 17.
Support for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act

Committee to Consider Landmark Student Aid Legislation

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On Tuesday, July 21st, the House Education and Labor Committee will consider legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable by investing billions of dollars in additional student aid, at no cost to taxpayers. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next ten years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, safeguard federal student loan access for families, and enact President Obama’s key education priorities. The legislation, which was introduced earlier today, pays for itself by making the federal student loan programs more reliable, effective and cost-efficient for students, families and taxpayers.

WHAT:         
Full Committee Mark-Up of H.R. 2187 “H.R. 3221, The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009”

WHEN:         
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
11:00 a.m. ET
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

News of the Day: End student-loan profiteering

This morning's Boston Globe editorial calls for ending taxpayer subsidy to banks who make no-risk federal student loans that are insured by the government. After going through the many new benefits under the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, the Globe says this:

This taxpayer money is urgently needed to provide aid to students for whom a four-year college is out of reach. Earlier this week, Obama proposed to infuse $12 billion into community colleges. Another block of savings will give extra funding for Pell Grants and link them with cost-of-living increases.

In this economic climate, Congress must fix the broken system that unnecessarily takes money from taxpayers and students. Educational investments should go straight to students.
We encourage you to read the entire editorial, as well as learn more about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009.

UPDATE: We also suggest you read the Washington Post article about Lifelines in the Student Loan Sea.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

______________________________________________________________________________

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                 July 15, 2009

 

 

Statement from the President on Chairman Miller’s education reform bill

 

I applaud Chairman Miller for introducing an education reform bill that will cut giveaways to special interests, invest in our children’s future, and save taxpayer’s money. 

 

Chairman Miller and I are working to end the wasteful subsidies that are given to banks and private lenders for student loans.  Instead, his legislation will make college more affordable by paying for annual increases in Pell Grants that keep pace with inflation.  He’s also working with us to simplify financial aid forms and increase graduation rates. 

 

This legislation will also help us reach the goal I set out in Michigan this week to graduate five million more Americans from community colleges by 2020.  These institutions can act as job training centers for the 21st century, and this legislation makes the largest investment in community colleges in fifty years, challenging them to increase completion rates, strengthen ties with businesses, modernize facilities, and offer new online learning opportunities.  Chairman Miller’s legislation will also invest in high-quality early education that can save taxpayers several dollars for every one we spend.  It includes $10 billion for early learning challenge grants that will ask states to ensure that the number of children who start school ready to learn is growing each year.

 

Finally, I am proud that this legislation not only pays for itself, but also saves taxpayers money and reduces the deficit.  I look forward to working with the Chairman and Congress to make this bill even stronger and pass it before the end of the year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today introduced legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable by investing billions of dollars in additional student aid – and at no new cost to taxpayers.

The legislation, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next ten years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, create a more reliable and effective financial aid system for families, and enact President Obama’s key education priorities.

Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act

(This post was updated on March 18, 2010 to reflect final changes made to SAFRA.)

Education Reconciliation: The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act
A Landmark Investment in America’s Economic Future

Now more than ever, Americans need affordable, quality education opportunities to help make our economy strong and competitive again. President Obama has identified an opportunity to make historic investments in our economic future by making college dramatically more affordable – at no cost to taxpayers. (See how SAFRA will benefit students living in each congressional district.)

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was included in the health care reconciliation bill that passed on March 21, 2010 by a vote of 220-211 and signed into law on March 30, 2010, embraces the president’s challenge. It will help us reach his goal of producing the most college graduates by 2020 by making the single largest investment in federal student aid ever. Specifically, these provisions will:

SAFRA: Reliable, Affordable College Loans for Families

The financial crisis exposed serious vulnerabilities in the lender-based federally guaranteed student loan programs – putting the low-cost federal loans that millions of families count on in jeopardy. Now more than ever, students and families need access to reliable, stable forms of federal student aid to pay for college. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will make our federal student loan program more cost-effective and efficient for those they were intended to serve: students and families working hard to pay for college. Specifically, the legislation will:

Create a more reliable, affordable, student-focused federal loan program by switching to all Direct Loans by 2010


  • Converts all new federal student lending to the stable, effective and cost-efficient Direct Loan program. Beginning July 1, 2010, all new federal student loans will be originated through the Direct Loan program, instead of through lenders subsidized by taxpayers in the federally-guaranteed student loan program. Unlike the lender-based program, the Direct Loan program is entirely insulated from market swings and can therefore guarantee students access to low-cost federal college loans, in any economy.
  • Provides students with low-cost federal college loans with the same interest rates, terms and conditions as loans made by lenders – and the peace of mind of knowing those loans will never disappear. Loans made through both the Direct Loan and the federally-guaranteed student loan programs carry an interest rate of 6.8 percent – a much more affordable interest rate than private loans carry. Under this legislation, federal student loan borrower will be able to borrow the same loans, at the same good rates as before – but these loans will be more cost-effective for taxpayers.  

Ensure that all student borrowers can benefit from high-quality, state-of-the-art customer service when repaying their loans

  • Upgrades the services all federal student loan borrowers receive. Rather than force private industry out of the system, the bill will forge a new public-private partnership that both maintains jobs and provides all borrowers with the highest-quality customer service when repaying their loans. It will establish a competitive bidding process that allows the U.S. Department of Education to select lenders based on how well they serve borrowers, provide financial literacy counseling, and prevent loan defaults. The legislation will also provide a role for non-profits to continue servicing student loans.
  • Preserves servicing jobs in communities across the country. Between this new public-private partnership and the more than $500 billion in outstanding federally-guaranteed student loans that will still need to be serviced, there will be tremendous demand for workers to continue providing great service to Americans repaying their loans.

Streamline financial aid operations for colleges and universities

  • College financial aid offices already have the infrastructure in place to administer Direct Loans. Schools will be able to operate these loans using the same on-site system currently used to administer Pell Grant scholarships; almost all schools participate in the program. Colleges and universities that have switched to Direct Loans, including those that converted in the midst of last year’s credit crisis, report that it was a fairly easy and inexpensive process. Currently about 1,700 schools participate in the Direct Loan program, including 500 colleges that switched in the past year alone. Under this bill about 4,500 colleges will need to switch to Direct Loans.

SAFRA: Groundbreaking Community College Reforms

A college degree continues to be the best pathway to the nation’s middle class. It’s also the best way to prepare our workers for the jobs of the future, to compete in a global marketplace, and to rebuild our economy so that it’s strong, innovative, and once again sets an example for the rest of the world. With more Americans than ever looking to go to college or return to school to get additional skills needed in new and emerging fields, community colleges have an increasingly important role to play in educating and training America’s workforce.

Just this week, President Obama set a new goal of graduating 5 million more Americans from community colleges by 2020. This legislation includes President Obama’s groundbreaking community college reforms that will help reach this goal and prepare students and workers for 21st century jobs by:


Creating a new Community College Challenge Grant Program that will transform community colleges into excellent education and job training centers


  • Build a 21st century workforce by encouraging historic partnerships between community colleges, businesses, job training and adult education programs. The bill will create a new competitive grant program for community colleges to improved instruction, work with local employers, improve their student support services, and implement other innovative reforms that will lead to a college degree, certificate or industry-recognized credential to fulfill local workforce needs. The Secretary of Education will be able to evaluate the effectiveness of all programs and policies funded through these grants by using 2 percent of these funds to commission the Institute for Education Sciences to conduct a rigorous study to help the Secretary determine which reforms may be replicated at other colleges and states.
  • Incentivize community colleges to achieve excellence by requiring them to meet benchmarks in order to participate in the challenge grant program. Under the program, the Secretaries of Education and Labor will award four-year grants to community colleges and other 2-year degree granting institutions on a competitive basis to support innovative pilot programs and policies. In order to continue to receive funding for year three of the grant period, community colleges must meet benchmarks they set in consultation with the Secretary of Education’s approval. Pilot programs and policies must also demonstrate that they can be replicated either in the state or nationwide. The minimum grant that can be awarded is $1 million. Funds can be used to carry at least two of the following activities:
  1. Facilitating transfer of credit articulation agreements;
  2. Expanding academic and training programs that provide relevant job-skill training for high-wage occupations in high-demand industries; 
  3. Improving student support services including those identified under the Workforce Investment Act; 
  4. Creating workforce programs that blend basic skills and occupational training leading to industry-recognized credentials; 
  5. Building and enhancing linkages including dual enrollment programs and early college high schools as well as improving remedial and adult education programs; and
  6. Implementing reform programs to increase completion rates and provision of training for students to enter high-wage occupations in high-demand industries.
  • Ensure that more students graduate with the expertise needed for high wage jobs and high-demand industries. Targets grants to high-need students and programs that focus on preparing students for jobs in fields that need workers and will continue to grow. The Secretaries would also be able to award six-year competitive grants to states to implement successful Challenge Grant Program reforms at other community and junior colleges within the state. Funding could be discontinued if the state does not make progress meeting benchmarks it develops with the Secretary by year three of the grant period.

Expanding access to education by supporting free, high-quality, online training, and high-school and college courses.

  • The U.S. Department of Education would be authorized to make competitive grants available to eligible colleges, workforce programs or other entities to help support the development of these courses.

Ensuring that Americans can learn in modern, updated, and state-of-the-art community college facilities.

  • Helps community colleges construct, renovate and repair their facilities by providing $2.5 billion, which will leverage additional funds, and ensures that funding is used for facilities that are primarily used for instruction, research, or student housing.
 

SAFRA: Preparing the Next Generation for a Lifetime of Success

A key piece of President’s Obama’s education agenda is helping children enter kindergarten with the skills they need to succeed by supporting comprehensive and effective early learning programs for children from birth to age 5. The first five years of a child’s life have a lasting impact on their learning, health, and behavior. Economists, business leaders, and child development experts agree that smart investments in early education are vital if we want to close the achievement gap and ensure our children are well prepared to thrive in school and in life.

Nearly 12 million children under age 5 regularly spend time in child care arrangements and children with working mothers spend on average 36 hours per week in such settings. But currently federal and state policies for child care leave families with a patchwork system of child care with mediocre quality. Our children deserve and need better. By 4 years old, children from low-income families are already 18 months behind most other 4 year-olds. From the start, education reform should include high quality early learning opportunities from birth through age 5 to help give children what they will need to grow and succeed.

To ensure more kids reach kindergarten ready to succeed, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act includes an Early Learning Challenge Fund to increase the number of low-income children in high quality early learning settings. Specifically, the legislation will:

Invest $1 billion each year in competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high quality early learning systems for children birth to age 5 that includes:   

  • Early learning standards reform.
  • Evidence-based program quality standards.
  • Enhanced program review and monitoring of program quality.
  • Comprehensive professional development.
  • Coordinated system for facilitating screenings for disability, health, and mental health needs. 
  • Improved support to parents.
  • Process for assessing children’s school readiness.
  • Improved data systems to improve child outcomes.

Transform early learning programs by insisting upon real change in state standards and practices:

  • Build an effective, qualified, and well-compensated early childhood workforce by supporting more effective providers with degrees in early education and better compensation, and providing sustained, intensive, classroom-focused professional development to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood providers
  • Best practices in the classroom by implementing research-based early learning and development standards aligned with academic content standards for grades K-3.
  • Promote parent and family involvement by developing outreach strategies to parents that will help them support their children’s development.
  • Fund quality initiatives that improve instructional practices, programmatic practices, and classroom environments that promote school readiness.
  • Quality standards reform that moves toward pre-service training requirements for early learning providers, and adoption of developmentally appropriate standards for teacher-child ratios and group size.

SAFRA: World-Class Learning Facilities For All Students

School facilities should be safe and healthy learning environments for students. But according to recent estimates, America’s elementary and secondary schools, and community colleges are hundreds of billions of dollars short of the funding needed to bring them up to good condition. Poor learning conditions aren’t just bad for students’ health: research shows a correlation between facility quality and student achievement.

Modernizing school buildings will help revive our economy by creating jobs and preparing workers for the clean energy fields of the future. And by ensuring students can learn in modern, updated, renovated and safer environments, this legislation will help prepare future generations to compete in a 21st century global economy. Specifically, this legislation will:


Provide elementary and secondary schools and community colleges with access to funding for modernization, renovation and repair projects


    For K-12 schools:
  • Authorizes more than $5 billion for elementary and secondary school facility projects over the next two fiscal years, and ensures that school districts will receive funds for school modernization, renovation, and repairs that create healthier, safer, and more energy-efficient teaching and learning climates.
  • Allocates the same percentage of funds to school districts that they receive under Part A of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, except that it guarantees each such district a minimum of $5,000.

  • For Community Colleges:
  • Provides grants to states to help community colleges finance new construction, modernization, renovation, and repair projects.
  • Allows grant funds to be used to match private donations to a community college capital campaign.
Encourage energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources

  • Requires the majority of funds to be used for projects that meet green building standards. Allows states to reserve one percent of the elementary and secondary funding to administer the program, provide technical assistance, and to develop voluntary guidelines for high-performing school buildings.
  • Increases transparency by requiring school districts to publicly report the types of modernization, renovation, and repairs completed as well as the educational, energy and environmental benefits of such projects.
  • Brings innovative projects to scale by requiring the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to disseminate best practices in school construction and to provide technical assistance to states and school districts.

Provide additional aid to Gulf Coast schools still recovering from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

  • Provides $70 million over two years for public elementary and secondary schools that were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Many students still attend school in temporary classrooms.

Ensure fair wages and benefits for workers by applying Davis-Bacon protections to all grants for instructional facility modernization, renovation, and repair projects

SAFRA: What's In It For You?

More Help Covering College Tuition and Expenses

  • Higher Pell Grant scholarship of $5,550 in 2010 and $6,900 in 2019.
About 6 million students received the Pell Grant scholarship in 2007-2008.
  • Lower interest rates on need-based (subsidized) federal student loans.
Nationwide about 5.5 million students borrow these loans each year.
  • More access to Perkins loan program by expanding it to every U.S. college campus.
Last year approximately 495,000 students received a Perkins Loan.
  • Shorter, simpler FAFSA form that makes applying for financial aid easier.
In 2003-2004, over 1.5 million college students who likely were eligible to receive Pell Grants didn’t apply for financial aid because they found the FAFSA form too confusing.

Better Opportunities to Prepare for Good Jobs

  • New college access and completion programs to help you stay in school and graduate.
  • Innovative partnerships between colleges, businesses and job training programs to help you get the real-world experience and skills you need to be ready for the jobs of the future.
  • Free, high-quality, online training and high school and college courses.

Financial Aid Programs That Are Worry-Free and Operate In Your Best Interest

  • Gives you the peace of mind of knowing that your federal student loans are stable.
  • Removes any potential for conflicts of interest between lenders and colleges.
  • Guarantees you the best customer service available when you repay your student loans.

News of the Day: Fix loan system for a stronger future

Chairman Miller has an op-ed in the Politico today about the plan to reform federal student loans.

Here it is in its entirety:

Fix loan system for a stronger future
By: Rep. George Miller

This summer, millions of students will sit down with their families to figure out how to pay for college. They will unwittingly enter into a financial lending system that is badly broken — and not benefiting them as intended.

However, if Congress and President Barack Obama are successful, this system is about to undergo a major change.

The college financing system that was supposed to ensure all students access to college is dangerously out of control, for three reasons.

First, tuition has skyrocketed and shows no signs of abating.

Second, the roller-coaster credit markets have put the federally guaranteed student loan program, which for years has originated almost three-quarters of all federal college loans, on life support.

SAFRA: Myths vs. Facts (updated 3.18.10)

(This post was updated on March 18, 2010.)

Investing in Students, Not Banks

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act invests billions of dollars in students and families, at no costs to taxpayers. Not surprisingly, critics are using scare tactics to try to mislead the American public about this effort. They’re desperate to preserve the status quo – a system that for too long has favored banks at the expense of students and taxpayers.
The PJ Star has an article about the new benefits for graduates and students with federal loans that quotes Rep. Phil Hare (D-IL):

"This program will provide much-needed relief to Illinois students and families who are already struggling in this tough economy," said U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, who approved the legislation. "We should be rewarding those who pursue a higher education, not crippling them with debt. When the best and the brightest students can afford to go to college, we all benefit."

Learn more about the College Cost Reduction and Access Act and read other blog posts highlighting the many benefits.

News of the Day: Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

While highlighting some of the other benefits that started yesterday, both the Washington Post and the Daily Texan pay specific attention to the public service loan forgiveness program under the College Cost and Reduction and Access Act.

The Washington Post explains how this benefit works:

Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, the Obama administration announced yesterday [although this provision was enacted 2 years ago by Congress], people with student loans can have their debts erased after 10 years of public service. Let's say Dr. Feelgood graduates from medical school with a mountain of student loan debt. Her heart, and a little angel on one shoulder, tell her to work in a clinic serving a low-income community on tribal lands, but that little devil on her other shoulder says to become a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. And the little devil is holding her empty pocketbook as evidence to back his case.

If the doctor follows her heart and makes 120 payments -- one a month for 10 years -- on her student loan, Uncle Sam will tell her to forget the rest of the money she owes.
and the Daily Texan speaks to a student who will benefit from the new provision because she is entering public service.

Elisheba Evans, a former UT English student who transferred to the University of North Texas, is paying off her UT-Austin student loans.

She said the program’s forgiveness clause will benefit her in her career choice as a science teacher.

“It’s good that there is a system in place to reward people going into [public service] because you aren’t making that much at all,” Evans said.
Learn more about public service loan forgiveness (pdf) and read other blog posts on the benefits from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.
Today new benefits go into effect that will make monthly student loan payments more manageable and affordable for millions of students and borrowers struggling to stay afloat in this tough economic climate.

These benefits were enacted as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, a law I sponsored in 2007 that made historic investments to help more Americans earn a college degree. With the economy against this year’s college graduates, this relief couldn’t come at a better time.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Starting tomorrow, federal student loans will become more affordable to repay as a new Income-Based Repayment (IBR) program takes effect.  IBR will allow borrowers to cap their monthly loan payments based on how much income they earn. This program, in conjunction with a lower interest rate on subsidized – or need-based – student loans and an increase in the Pell Grant scholarship, will help make college more affordable and help alleviate devastating student loan burdens for millions of students, recent graduates and other borrowers.

“This help couldn’t be coming at a better time for borrowers in this tough economy, or for current and future students facing an escalating college affordability crisis,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “These benefits will make a serious difference for students and families working very hard to pay for college, and will provide millions of borrowers more flexibility in choosing a career they truly desire rather than one made necessary due to crippling student debt.”

“Under this new program, students no longer have to choose between serving their nation and communities and tackling a mountain of college debt,” explained U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA).  “Our nation is better and stronger when the best and brightest young Americans choose careers in public service.”


Jonathan Glater has an article in today's New York Times about the good news for college students and graduates starting on July 1st. The new benefits include lower interest rates on federally student loans and an option to lower monthly payments based upon one's income (see video below).

“These benefits are guaranteed, no matter what happens in our economy, and are kicking in at exactly the right time for millions of Americans,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the House education committee.

See Chairman Miller's complete statement here.


Source: IBRinfo.org

News of the Day: Simplifying college aid

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Today's Bangor Daily News has an excellent editorial about the Obama administrations efforts to simply the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form. Some changes will be immediate, while others will be phased in over the next several years. Rather than wait weeks, students will now be able to see estimates of Pell Grant and other student loan eligibility immediately. The number of questions will be reduced by about 20% to 150 and starting in January, for students who choose, they will be able to import relevant tax information from the IRS.

“Confusing paperwork shouldn’t stand between qualified students and a college degree,” said Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat who is chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. A law passed last year helped, creating a two-page form for some low-income families.

We encourage you to read the entire editorial and to learn from the Department of Education.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today praised President Barack Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan for announcing a new effort to simplify the federal student aid application, called the FAFSA. The Obama administration will be able to implement some of their proposed changes immediately; other proposals would require legislative action. Miller today said that the House will consider these proposals as part of its upcoming efforts to enact student loan reforms that will make college more accessible for American families:

“Confusing paperwork shouldn’t stand between qualified students and a college degree. As families’ needs for college aid continue to grow in this economy, we have to ensure that students and parents can access an easy-to-navigate financial aid process designed to help them get the federal aid they are eligible for. Secretary Duncan has put forth commonsense proposals for streamlining the FAFSA, and Congress will examine how we can build on these steps as we work to make college more affordable by safeguarding and strengthening our federal student aid programs.”

News of the Day: New repayment option on student loans

The Boston Globe's personal finance reporter, Jill Boynton, has a concise article about the new benefits for students with federal college loans that start on July 1, 2009.

But what if you have a job, but not a lot of income? Under the Income-Based Repayment plan (IBR) your payments are capped to no more than 15% of discretionary income, an amount that is based on the federal poverty guideline. "Discretionary income" is defined as the difference between adjusted gross income and 150 percent of the federal poverty line that corresponds to your family size and the state you live in (from www.finaid.org).

These new options apply to the Stafford, Grad Plus and federal consolidated loans and your loans must be in good standing. If you are unemployed, you can apply for a deferment of up to 3 years. Read the entire article and visit www.ibrinfo.org to learn more about the income-based repayment plan.
David Randall at Forbes.com has an article about the new Income-Based Repayment benefit that begins July 1st under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. He explains how it will work:

First, income-based repayment will only be available for federal student loans that are in good standing. Under this plan, borrowers' monthly payments will be capped at 15% of the amount by which their income exceeds the federal poverty level (currently $16,245).

Let's say you have an adjusted gross income of $30,000. That means your pay exceeds the federal poverty level by $13,755 a year, or $1,146.25 a month. Under the new program, you would owe 15% of that amount, or $171.94, per month, regardless of your total outstanding loan balance.

If you left school owing $40,000 in federal loans, you would pay $460.32 a month under the standard 10-year plan. By choosing the income-based repayment plan, you would save 63% per month (by lengthening the life of the loan, however, you will end up paying more in interest over time.)
There are additional circumstances for married couples filing jointly, students in deferment, and medical students to consider. We encourage you to read the entire article (and use their cool income-based repayment calculator to see your potential monthly savings).

News of the Day: When Sallie Met Barack

An op-ed by Gail Collins in today's New York Times discusses the need to reform student loans. After looking at the private loan sector, she then turns to the federally-guaranteed loans:

This is a system that goes something like this:

  • We the taxpayers pay the banks to make loans to students.
  • We the taxpayers then guarantee the loans so the banks won’t lose money if the students don’t pay.
  • We the taxpayers then buy back the loans from the banks so they can make more loans to students, for which we will then pay them more rewards.
Are you with me so far? Wait, I see a hand waving back there. What’s that, sir? You want to know why the government doesn’t just lend the money out itself? Excellent question!

The White House estimates that it could save about $94 billion over 10 years if it cut out all the middlemen. And it has the basis of a system in place, since the Department of Education already makes a lot of direct loans to students.
We encourage you to learn more about the President's proposal, read the entire editorial and review the highlights from our recent hearing on this subject.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A wide and growing consensus of stakeholders, including the Obama administration, Sallie Mae, colleges and students, agree that major reforms must be made to the federal student loan programs in order to make college more affordable for years to come, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today.

In the last year, the crises in the credit markets and the economy have dramatically altered the student loan landscape, putting the federally-guaranteed student loan program that private lenders participate in on life support. As a result, the student loan programs aren’t working as effectively as they could be for students, families or taxpayers, witnesses explained.

“The status quo has become impossible to defend. Students and families are not being served as well as they could be and taxpayers are spending billions of dollars annually to finance a broken system,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the committee. “Momentum is building for reforms that will deliver aid to families in a more stable and sustainable way, shielded from any ups and downs in the markets. We can either continue sending billions of dollars to banks and lenders or we can start sending it to students who need more help than ever paying for college in this economy.”

Increasing Student Aid through Loan Reform

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, May 21, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC
On Thursday, May 21, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine proposals that will make historic increases in college aid by enacting reforms that will make the nation’s federal student loan programs more reliable, effective and efficient for students, families and taxpayers.

One of the proposals the committee will examine is President Obama’s FY 2010 budget proposal, which would increase the Pell Grant scholarship and other forms of student aid by almost $100 billion over ten years – and at no cost to taxpayers. The President’s plan would be paid for by ending the subsidies the federal government currently pays to lenders in the federally-guaranteed student loan programs and re-directing those savings back into additional aid for low- and middle-income students

Rep. Tim Bishop: On July 1, New Benefits Will Make College More Affordable

(This is a guest blog post by Rep. Tim Bishop, Education and Labor Committee Member.)

bishop-headshot-square.jpgAn article in Newsday recently declared that the “recession is pushing college out of reach.” That’s a sobering thought—particularly because a college education can be a key path to a stronger financial future for many Americans.

Current statistics on costs at local colleges and universities help explain why this is the case. At Stony Brook University on Long Island, the average debt incurred by 2007 graduates had increased by 9% over the previous year. That’s nearly three times the annual cost of living adjustment. Completing college in New York or any other state is an increasingly expensive proposition: the average student graduates with nearly $22,000 in debt. With the current economic downturn, a college degree may appear even further out of reach for many Americans.

As a former college administrator, I understand the importance of college affordability for American students. I am heartened by the steps that President Obama and my Congressional colleagues have taken to date, including the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This legislation includes billions of dollars to repair and construct school facilities and improve services for the children most in need, which will better prepare our next generation for the challenges of college and the globalized economy.

On July 1st, some new benefits for students will go into effect thanks to the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. On July 1, the interest rate on need-based federal student loans will be reduced to 5.6% down from the current 6% (rates will drop even further to 3.4% by 2011). The maximum Pell Grant scholarship will increase to $5,350 which will reduce the amount that students need to borrow in the first place. In addition, monthly loan payments may be capped at 15% of discretionary income, so student loans will become less of a burden on young people getting started in their careers.

Alex, a student on Long Island who will graduate with a whopping $70,000 in debt, puts it well: “Higher education shouldn’t come at the price of indebtedness for life.”

That’s a goal for our college graduates on which I hope we all can agree.

We can get there by increasing grant aid from all sources (federal, state, and institutional), making it less expensive for students and families to borrow, and working with institutions to implement best practices to hold down costs.

News of the Day: Hope for grads deep in debt

In today's Chicago Sun-Times, Terry Savage's Savage Truth column brings great news for recent college graduates.

Starting July 1, there will be new help for recent grads -- or those who have been out of school for a while and are struggling to repay student loans. The new federal Income-Based Repayment program will allow those with low incomes to pay as little as zero on their student loans, as long as they qualify based on income and amount of debt.
The rules are a little complicated, but you can visit www.IBRinfo.org. to use their online calculator to see if you are eligible.

Additional benefits that start on July 1 from the College Cost Reduction and Access Act include:
  • increase in Pell Grants
  • reduction in interest rates on federal loans from 6.0% to 5.6%
  • TEACH grants for qualified undergraduate students who commit to teaching in public schools in high-poverty communities or high-need subject areas.
  • Loan forgiveness after 10 years for public servants
We encourage you to read Ms. Savage's entire column and visiting our page on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act for more information.
On Tuesday, May 19, the House Committee on Education and Labor will hold a hearing to examine abusive and deadly uses of seclusion and restraint in U.S. schools. Seclusion and restraint are physical interventions used by teachers and other school staff to prevent students from hurting themselves or others.

On Wednesday, May 20, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will testify before the House Education and Labor Committee about President Obama’s agenda for transforming American education. This will mark Secretary’s first appearance on Capitol Hill to outline the President’s education goals.

On Thursday, May 21, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine proposals that will make historic increases in college aid by enacting reforms that will make the nation’s federal student loan programs more reliable, effective and efficient for students, families and taxpayers.

One of the proposals the committee will examine is President Obama’s FY 2010 budget proposal, which would increase the Pell Grant scholarship and other forms of student aid by almost $100 billion over ten years – and at no cost to taxpayers. The President’s plan would be paid for by ending the subsidies the federal government currently pays to lenders in the federally-guaranteed student loan programs and re-directing those savings back into additional aid for low- and middle-income students.
On Thursday, May 21, the House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing to examine proposals that will make historic increases in college aid by enacting reforms that will make the nation’s federal student loan programs more reliable, effective and efficient for students, families and taxpayers.

One of the proposals the committee will examine is President Obama’s FY 2010 budget proposal, which would increase the Pell Grant scholarship and other forms of student aid by almost $100 billion over ten years – and at no cost to taxpayers. The President’s plan would be paid for by ending the subsidies the federal government currently pays to lenders in the federally-guaranteed student loan programs and re-directing those savings back into additional aid for low- and middle-income students.

WHAT:         
Hearing on “Increasing Student Aid through Loan Reform”

WHO:           
Witnesses TBA

WHEN:         
Thursday, May 21, 2009
10:00 a.m. ET
Please check the Committee schedule for potential updates »

WHERE:      
House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room
2175 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.


WASHINGTON, D.C. – With this year’s college graduates preparing to enter one of the toughest job markets in years, today Democratic lawmakers announced new benefits that will take effect July 1 that will make college more affordable for students and allow borrows to cap their monthly student loan payments at a reasonable percentage of their income.

The benefits were established under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, a law Congress enacted in 2007 that provided an additional $20 billion in federal student aid for students at no additional cost to taxpayers.
 
The cost of paying for college is becoming even more burdensome for Americans in this economy. While families are losing income, benefits and jobs, college tuition prices continue to rise. The average student now graduates with over $22,000 in total student debt, including federal and private student loans.

This year’s class of graduating college seniors also enters one of the toughest jobs markets in decades for recent graduates. Of the 1.2 million jobs lost last year, 60 percent were held by workers aged 25 or younger. Their wages may also suffer: Economists have found that workers who graduated during recessions typically earn less over a lifetime than workers who graduate in better economic times. Many borrowers already spend high percentages of their paychecks making student loan payments – and it’s only likely to get worse.

Given these challenges, it’s critical for current college students, new or soon-to-be graduates, and workers to know about new benefits that went into effect July 1, 2009 that will make student loan payments manageable for millions of Americans. (These benefits were signed into law in 2007 as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act.) They include:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today hailed the Obama administration for taking steps to expand access to college and other education and job training programs for workers who have lost their jobs. President Obama announced this effort as today’s April jobs report showed the U.S. economy lost 593,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate shot to 8.9 percent.

“As we continue working to turn our economy around, we have to do everything we can to help the millions of Americans who have suffered job losses in this recession get the education, training and skills they need to return to the workforce. President Obama’s initiatives are commonsense steps that will make college and training programs more accessible and affordable for laid-off workers by allowing them to enroll in postsecondary education without forfeiting their unemployment benefits. In addition, it’s critical that he reminded financial aid officers that they can adjust financial aid packages based on recent layoffs, so families aren’t paying for college based on incomes they no longer earn.

News of the Day: College Affordability

President Obama has challenged every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. And today he made it easier by ensuring that those receiving unemployment benefits won't lose them if they return to school. (from the AP article)

Currently, people who are out of work and want to go back to school have to give up their monthly unemployment check. And if they decide to return to school, they often don't qualify for federal grants because eligibility is based upon the previous year's income.
In addition to making it easier for those out of work to return for additional training, President Obama has been pushing for a transformation of the federal loan program to save taxpayers money and ensure stability for students. This USA Today editorial explains why this reform is important.

The student lending market is far smaller than the housing market. But it raises a similar question: Does it make sense for the government to pump its education dollars through banks — which divert some of the money for their own profits, wine and dine college financial aid officers to get on "preferred lender" lists, and lobby Washington to keep the spigot open?

The administration estimates it can save as much as $94 billion over 10 years by eliminating middlemen and lending directly. Even if that number is exaggerated, it reflects how inefficiently taxpayers' money is being spent. Banks shouldn't need major subsidies to issue guaranteed student loans.

To learn more about President Obama's proposal click here.

21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act

Full Committee Markup 10:00 AM, May 6, 2009 2175 Rayburn H.O.B
Washington, DC

 

In today's paper, the New York Times has an article about the difficulty of paying for college. It follows Brennan Jackson, an A-student who ranks near the top of his high school class, as he tries to raise the $25,000 he still needs for his freshman year at the University of California, Berkeley, by stitching together a quilt of merit scholarships.

While Brennan’s situation, and the remedy he is pursuing, may sound extremely ambitious, guidance counselors across the country say they can recall no prior year in which so many applicants’ families have been squeezed by so many financial pressures.

Not only have families’ incomes been falling as their savings have dwindled, but also tuition has been rising — including proposed increases of nearly 10 percent next year throughout the University of California system....

Interest rates on student loans, including on popular federal programs like the unsubsidized Stafford (now nearly 7 percent) and Parent Plus (8.5 percent), are running several percentage points higher than the rates on secured loans, like home equity lines of credit.

“The difference of rates between secured and unsecured loans is higher than I have ever seen,” said Scott White, director of counseling services at Westfield High School in New Jersey. “This is one further impediment to access to post-secondary education for all but the well-to-do.”
President Obama has put forth a solid plan to make federal student loans more reliable, while saving taxpayers billions of dollars. To learn about the President's proposal, click here.

News of the Day: Chairman Miller talks with the New Republic

Chairman Miller on making college more affordable.



Will Congress pass Obama's student loan plan?

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to a new study showing the number of undergraduate students borrowing private student loans increased by 9 percent over the past five years, from 5 percent in 2003-04 to 14 percent in 2007-08, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement: 

News of the Day: Serve students, not banks

In today's News of the Day, the San Francisco Chronicle has an editorial about the importance for reform in the student loan industry. They say "one of the most sensible proposals in President Obama's budget would end federal subsidies for private lenders in favor of direct government loans."  And they take on several of the complaints about President Obama's proposal. For instance,

This proposal would not threaten private lenders' ability to make private loans to college students at unregulated (and often highly profitable) interest rates. It would simply allow the federal government to keep the profits from loans it already subsidizes, instead of handing them over to banks. It would improve efficiency and save money, and it should have been passed a long time ago.

And there is more at the San Francisco Chronicle and we encourage you to read the entire editorial.

To learn more about where Chairman Miller stands on this proposal, see his statement on President Obama's budget.

News of the Day: The Battle Over Student Lending

In today's New York Times, the editorial board declared, "The direct-lending proposal is clearly in the country’s best interest."

Private companies that reap undeserved profits from the federal student-loan program are gearing up to kill a White House plan that would get them off the dole and redirect the savings to federal scholarships for the needy. Instead of knuckling under to the powerful lending lobby, as it has so often done in the past, Congress needs to finally put the taxpayers’ interests first. That means embracing President Obama’s plan.

This builds upon Rep. Miller and the Education and Labor Committee's efforts in the 110th Congress.

We encourage you to read the entire editorial. And these from the Syracuse Post-Standard and the Albany Times Union.

News of the Day: Get a job, ditch your student loans

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Today's university graduates are faced with a tough job market and thousands of dollars in loans to repay. This often makes choosing to work in traditionally low-paying fields such as public service a tough decision. However, under the College Cost Reduction Act, graduates can reduce or eliminate their loans by entering into a career in the military, volunteering, teaching or practicing law or medicine in low-income communities.

CNN Money has an article about how specific provisions in the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 can help recent graduates.

Under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, two federal loan forgiveness programs could provide greater assistance to those who decide to pursue careers that serve the public. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) could make student loan forgiveness much more accessible to the masses.

"Both of these programs are much more widely available than anything that's been available in the past," says Irons.
We encourage you to read the entire article to learn more about the two provisions, as well as visit the Department of Labor's website for the IBR and PSLF provisions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement after the House Budget Committee considered and passed the House Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2010. Among other things, the resolution includes instructions for the House Education and Labor Committee to enact reforms that produce $1 billion in savings for taxpayers over the next five years. Miller today announced the committee intends to use these instructions to enact student loans reforms that will benefit American families and taxpayers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today praised the nomination of Gabriella Gomez, a senior education policy advisor for the committee, as Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the Department of Education.
The New York Times published an editorial this morning entitled Helping Students, Not Lenders. They highlight President Obama's efforts to save taxpayers $47.5 billion over ten years and make loans more dependable for students.

The budget rightly calls for phasing out the wasteful and all-too-corruptible portion of the student program that relies on private lenders. And it calls for expanding the less-expensive and more-efficient program that allows students to borrow directly from the federal government. That means doing away with the Federal Family Education Loan Program, under which private lenders receive unnecessary subsidies to make risk-free student loans that are guaranteed by taxpayers.

This builds upon Rep. Miller and the Education and Labor Committee's efforts in the 110th Congress.

We encourage you to read the entire editorial.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement praising President Obama’s higher education budget proposals.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Millions of college students and families will receive significant help paying for college next year under the economic recovery plan President Obama signed into law yesterday. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will immediately increase the Pell Grant scholarship by an additional $500 next year. The legislation will also provide students and families with a new, partially refundable college tuition tax credit of $2,500, among other things.
Building a Strong, Competitive 21st Century Economy

A well-trained, college-educated workforce is key to a strong American economy and middle class. The economic crisis, combined with rising tuition prices and declining state support for higher education, threatens to put college out of reach for many students – forcing them to take a semester off or even skip college. Allowing students to be priced out of a college education will only further weaken our workforce and our economy. Economists, the business community, scientists and others agree that making strategic investments in education is a smart move to grow our economy and regain our competitive edge in the 21st century global economy.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help college students and families pay for college by significantly boosting federal student aid. It builds on the groundwork laid by the 110th Congress to make college more affordable and accessible for all qualified students. The legislation will:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of legislation to jumpstart and rebuild the American economy, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed significant increases in college aid that will benefit millions of students and families. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman George Miller (D-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, today released the following statement on the death of former Senator Claiborne Pell. Senator Pell created the Pell Grant scholarship and established the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

WASHINGTON D.C.U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced a new plan to bolster consumer lending, including student loans. The plan would allow investors to obtain a loan from the Federal Reserve, using student-loan and other asset-backed securities as collateral, potentially providing more funding to lenders to extend consumer credit.

Pell Grants Helping More Students Pay for College

More students than ever before are receiving Pell Grants to help pay for college and that number is on the rise, according to a new report released today by the College Board. The study also shows that, with college costs rising, students are continuing to access the federal student loans for which they are eligible. Over the past year, the average tuition and fees for in-state students at four-year public colleges and universities increased by 6.4 percent to $6,585 for the 2008-2009 school year.



House Votes to Extend Student Loan Access Protections at No Cost to Taxpayers

The House of Representatives yesterday approved bipartisan legislation to further ensure that turmoil in the U.S. credit markets will not prevent students and families from accessing the financial aid they need to pay for college. The legislation extends for one year certain provisions of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which were due to expire on July 1, 2009.
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 was signed into law today.  The law, passed by the House on July 31 by a vote of 380-49, is the first reauthorization of the nation’s primary higher education laws in a decade.
The House passed the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (H.R. 4137) today, by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 380-49.  This vote gave final approval to an overhaul of our nation's higher education laws, advancing key reforms that would address the soaring price of college and remove other obstacles that make it harder for qualified students to go to college.  The Higher Education Act was last reauthorized in 1998. The current law expired in 2003.  The bill now moves to the Senate for final clearance before being sent to the President for his signature. 
As a result of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, enacted into law last year, historically black colleges and universities across America will begin to receive record increases in new funding for the coming school year. The U.S. Department of Education will start awarding the grants to schools tomorrow.

House Expected to Vote on Higher Education Measure Tomorrow, July 31

The House is expected to vote tomorrow, July 31, on the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137).  This measure is the conference report on the Higher Education Act reauthorization; conferees adopted the conference report last night.
The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing to examine how business-education partnerships can help drive innovation and strengthen math and science education in America’s schools.

A report released by the National Math Panel in March found that the nation’s system for teaching math is “broken and must be fixed” if the U.S. wants to maintain its competitive edge. In May, the Committee first examined the report’s findings and recommendations; this hearing follows up on that hearing.

"Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008"

Full Committee Markup 10:00 AM, April 9, 2008

"Ensuring the Availability of Federal Student Loans"

Full Committee Hearing 9:00 AM, March 14, 2008

"Modern Public School Facilities: Investing in the Future"

Full Committee Hearing 10:30 AM, February 13, 2008

"College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007"

Full Committee Markup 1:30 PM, November 14, 2007

"International Students and Visiting Scholars: Trends, Barriers, and Implications for American Universities and U.S. Foreign Policy"

Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee Hearing 9:30 AM, June 29, 2007

"Workforce Investment Act: Recommendations to Improve the Effectiveness of Job Training"

Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Hearing 1:30 PM, June 28, 2007

"Building on the Success of 35 Years of Title IX"

Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Hearing 10:00 AM, June 19, 2007

"College Cost Reduction Act of 2007"

Full Committee Markup 11:30 AM, June 13, 2007

"Higher Education Act: Institutional Support for Colleges and Universities Under Title III and Title V"

10:00 AM, June 4, 2007 Austin Community College Eastview Campus
3401 Webberville Road
Austin, Texas

"Best Practices for Making College Campuses Safe"

Full Committee Hearing 10:00 AM, May 15, 2007

"Examining Unethical Practices in the Student Loan Industry"

Full Committee Hearing 10:30 AM, March 24, 2007

"The Higher Education Act: Approaches to College Preparation"

Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Hearing 1:30 AM, March 22, 2007
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