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:
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.
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.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 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.
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.
Watch Chairman George Miller make the case for these vital reforms to the federal student loan program.
Please restore consumer bankruptcy protections for private student loans immediately. My life (and the lives of my co-signers, my mother and grandmother) are in ruins because I graduated with six-figure private student loan debt into a horrible recession. If I cannot file for bankruptcy, I will never be able to buy a new car, own a home, or even have a family of my own. Never. Even the minimum payments are twice that of my rent. If I was in trouble with credit cards, I may have a chance at a new life, but strangely, only private student loan debt is specifically not currently covered by bankruptcy protections. Please restore these protections immediately.