Home
Biography
Wisconsin 6th District
Constituent Services
Issues & Legislation
Press
Students
Email Rep. Petri






Washington, DC Office
2462 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Tel: 202-225-2476
Fax: 202-225-2356
Directions / Hours

Fond du Lac Office
490 West Rolling Meadows Drive
Suite B
Fond du Lac, WI 54937
Tel: 920-922-1180
Fax: 920-922-4498
Toll-free in WI: 800-242-4883
Directions / Hours

Oshkosh Office
2390 State Road 44
Suite B
Oshkosh, WI 54904
Tel: 920-231-6333
Directions / Hours

Press Releases

For Immediate Release:
July 31, 2008
 

Higher Education Reforms,

Including Petri Provisions, Pass House

 

WASHINGTON - By a vote of 380 to 49Thursday afternoon, the House approved the first major overhaul in a decade of federal law governing higher education.  The Higher Education Opportunity Act, as negotiated in conference with the Senate, includes key reforms to ensure access, accountability, affordability and quality in higher education, including provisions authored by Rep. Tom Petri.

Petri, a senior member of the Education and Labor Committee and a former vice chairman of the committee, said that he is especially pleased to have four initiatives in the bill.

Included is a provision to require the Department of Justice to review any settlements the Education Secretary may enter into which cost taxpayers more than $1 million.  Over the past year, Petri has led congressional efforts to fight a settlement in which the Secretary forgave $278 million in illegitimately-obtained taxpayer funds to student loan company Nelnet.  Under Petri's provision, the Justice Department would have to report its opinion to the Education Secretary before the settlement could be signed.

"For the past year, I have fought to raise awareness of the tremendous abuse of taxpayer trust relative to the egregious Nelnet settlement," said Petri.  "My provision will ensure that we prevent future abuse and lead to greater fiscal accountability at the Department of Education by requiring a better review of massive settlements with lenders."

The bill also includes a critical first step toward implementation of Petri's Income-Dependent Education Assistance (IDEA) Act, H.R. 2465, which would give students the option of repaying college loans along with their taxes.  The loans would automatically be rescheduled depending on the borrower's income.  The Petri provision would require the Treasury and Education departments to study how they would implement IRS collection of income-dependent student loans and report back to Congress.

"Their joint report will provide the blueprint for the successful implementation of my IDEA Act, which would vastly improve the way American students repay their federal loans after graduation," said Petri. "The inclusion of this provision ensures that this process moves forward." 

Also, during Education and Labor Committee deliberations, Petri joined with Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) to develop a provision to make textbooks more accessible for visually-impaired college students.  Petri has long worked to increase textbook accessibility and authored an earlier law to make accessible textbooks for blind students in grades K through 12.  Petri's bill was approved in 2004 as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization.

Further included in the conference report are the key provisions of Petri's Higher Education for Freedom Act, H.R. 2004, that would create a grant program for the teaching of civics and history.  Petri has worked on this issue since a study was released earlier this decade demonstrating a lack of basic knowledge about the United States on the part of college students.

The final conference agreement also includes provisions to:

            *  Simplify the financial aid application process;

             *  Require colleges to establish Codes of Conduct to prohibit their financial aid employees from receiving anything of value in exchange for advantages sought by lenders;

            *  Require greater disclosure in college costs, including internet-based calculators of the net cost of college, and greater disclosure of textbook costs;

            *  Provide in-state tuition for members of the Armed Forces and their dependents who have lived in a state form more than 30 days; and,

            *  Authorize year-round Pell grants so that students can accelerate their course of study.