For Immediate Release
April 17, 2008 |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Cullen Schwarz
Office: 202.225.4961
Mobile: 202.225.0471 |
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Rep. Levin Supports Bill to Protect Continued Access to Federal Student Loans
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Legislation Helps Ensure Problems in U.S. Credit Markets
Do Not Leave Students Without a Way to Afford College |
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(Washington D.C.)- Congressman Sander Levin today joined a bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to approve legislation to ensure that the turmoil in the U.S. financial markets does not keep students and families from accessing the federal student loans they need to pay for college. The Ensuring Continued Access to Federal Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715), which carries no new cost for taxpayers, was passed by a vote of 383-27.
“A college education continues to be the best pathway to a good paying job, and having a well-educated workforce is crucial to our nation’s economic success,” said Rep. Levin. “All qualified students that desire a university degree should have the opportunity to earn one. This legislation will help ensure that student loans – increasingly necessary for many to afford higher education – remain accessible.”
The legislation would provide new protections, in addition to those that already exist under current law, to ensure that families continue to have timely, uninterrupted access to federal college loans in the event that the stress in the credit markets leads a significant number of lenders to substantially reduce their activity in the federally guaranteed student loan program.
H.R. 5715 would:
- Reduce borrowers’ reliance on costlier private college loans by increasing the annual loan limits on federal college loans by $2,000 for undergraduate students, and by increasing the aggregate loan limit (the total over the course of a student’s education) to $31,000 for dependent undergraduates and $57,500 for independent undergraduates;
- Give parent borrowers more time to begin paying off their federal PLUS loans by providing them with the option to defer repayment up to six months after their children leave school – giving families more flexibility in hard economic times.
- Help struggling homeowners pay for college by making sure that short-term delinquencies in mortgage payments do not prohibit otherwise eligible parents from being able to borrow parent PLUS loans. Under current law, parents with an adverse credit history are ineligible to receive a parent PLUS loan, except under extenuating circumstances. The legislation would temporarily classify as an extenuating circumstance delinquencies of up to 180 days on home mortgages or medical expenses, making it possible for financially struggling parents to secure loans for their children;
- Clarify that existing law gives the U.S. Education Secretary the authority to advance federal funds to guaranty agencies in the event that they do not have sufficient capital to originate new loans, and allow guaranty agencies to carry out the functions of lender of last resort on a school-wide basis. Under the Higher Education Act, these guaranty agencies are obligated to serve as a nationwide network of lenders of last resort if requested to do so by the Education Secretary; and
- Give the U.S. Education Secretary the temporary authority to purchase loans from lenders in the federal guaranteed loan program, ensuring that lenders continue to have access to capital to originate new loans. The Education Department would be authorized to purchase loans only if doing so would not result in a net cost for the federal government.
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To Contact Congressman Levin: -
Email Congressman Levin In Michigan: 27085 Gratiot Ave, Roseville, MI 48066 | (586) 498-7122 | (248) 968-2025
In Washington: 1236 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 | (202) 225-4961
