According to a study by the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, college aid for students in our congressional district is at a record high!

To make college more affordable for students and middle class families, during the ‘09-‘10 school year, over $54 million in Pell Grant awards went out to nearly 15,000 recipients in this 22nd New York district. That's up from the approximately 12,000 recipients that received over $35 million in scholarships for the ‘08-‘09 school year.

I voted to pass The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which took effect in March and completely overhauled the federal student loan program, saving taxpayers $61 billion that is now being used to make the most significant college aid investment in American history.

Before these reforms, the federal government was giving big banks billions of taxpayer dollars to encourage them to provide loans to students -- even though the federal government was already guaranteeing the loans in case the students didn't repay. SAFRA cut out the big bank middle man in the federal student loan program and allowed us to improve our student aid programs. Today, middle class families and students across our part of New York are reaping the benefits.