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At an award luncheon April 20, Marquette University's Les Aspin Center for Government presented Congressman Tom Petri with the Les Aspin Distinguished Public Service Award in recognition of his career in public service and his commitment to higher education.
"The Award was established to honor distinguished public servants like Rep. Tom Petri who epitomize public service in the state and whose efforts have influenced national policy," said Rev. Timothy O'Brien, Director of the Aspin Center. "Rep. Petri clearly deserves to be commended for his public career and, from my perspective, especially for the important work he has done on student loans."
"It was a very great honor for me," said Petri of the award. "I am pleased to be in the company of other winners of this award, such as Gov. Tommy Thompson, Gov. Patrick Lucey and Archbishop Rembert Weakland."
Father O'Brien, cited Petri's leadership in the creation of the Direct Loan Program, which has helped make higher education more accessible to students.
The Direct Loan Program, begun in 1992 largely due to Petri's persistent advocacy, is an alternative to the older guaranteed loan program which subsidizes student loans made by private financial institutions. Both programs offer equivalent terms for borrowers, but direct lending has proved to be so cost-effective that President Obama is recommending ending guaranteed loans in favor of the Direct Loan Program. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently determined that the proposed change would save the government $94 billion over ten years.
Banks offering guaranteed loans have experienced difficulties in the current economy, but direct loans have functioned smoothly. "Thank God we had it," said Marquette University's president, Rev. Robert Wild of direct lending, whose institution was one of the first to participate in the program.
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