Making College More Affordable
Chairman George Miller (D-CA):
Today's vote is a vote to put students before banks and to finally ensure that our nation's financial aid programs operate as intended -- in the best interests of students, families and taxpayers. This landmark legislation will help write the next great education legacy for our country. President Obama has rightly called for us to make historic investments to make college more affordable, to empower community colleges to help rebuild our economy, and to prepare our youngest learners to arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed. I hope this Congress will join our Committee in standing with him on the right side of history.
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX):
This bill goes a long way towards expanding the accessibility and affordability of a college education for students across America. The bill will streamline the financial aid application process and increase funding for Pell Grants and Minority Serving Institutions, while also helping lower our national deficit. This bill accomplishes something we can all be proud of.
From the Education and Labor Committee:
According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will generate $87 billion in savings over the next 10 years. The legislation would invest those savings directly in students and families by:Investing $40 billion to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant scholarship to $5,550 in 2010 and to $6,900 by 2019. Starting in 2010, the scholarship will be linked to match rising costs-of-living by indexing it to the Consumer Price Index plus 1 percentage point;Investing $3 billion to bolster college access and completion support programs for students;
Strengthening the Perkins Loan program, a campus-based program that provides low-cost federal loans to students;
Keeping interest rates low on need-based -- or subsidized -- federal student loans by making the interest rates on these loans variable beginning in 2012. These interest rates are currently set to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in 2012;
Making it easier for families to apply for financial aid by simplifying the FAFSA form;
Providing loan forgiveness for members of the military who are called up to duty in the middle of the academic year; and
Investing $2.55 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions to provide students with the support they need to stay in school and graduate.
In addition, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will direct $10 billion of these savings back to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down the deficit. It will invest over $4 billion for school modernization, renovation and repair projects that will help improve school buildings across the country and help the nation transition to a clean energy economy. And it will also invest $1 billion per year over eight years to help ensure that the next generation of children can enter kindergarten with the skills they need to succeed in school. Building on proposals included in President Obama's 2010 budget, the bill establishes the Early Learning Challenge Fund, a competitive grant program that challenges states to build a comprehensive, high-quality early learning system for children from birth through age five.
Learn more:
Read a summary of the legislation>>Learn about how this legislation will help students and families>>
Get the details on coverting to Direct Loans>>
Learn about how this bill will strengthen community colleges>>