U.S. Senate and House bills would increase student aid
New federal legislation would help ease student debt.
Published Aug. 21, 2007
Separate but similar pieces of legislation passed this summer in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would, if met with approval at the desk of President George Bush, constitute the largest increase in financial aid for college students since the passage of the G.I. Bill of 1944.
In a news release following the passage of the Senate's Higher Education Access Act on July 19, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who cast a "yay" vote for the bill, stated the accessibility of higher education by American students is necessary to help keep the nation competitive in global markets.
"This bill will make life a little easier for Missouri families who struggle to pay for college," McCaskill said.
Scott Baker, spokesman for Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Mo., who voted against the House's College Cost Reduction Act, said Hulshof didn't support the bill because too much of the funds were going to "third parties" such as colleges and universities, rather than to the students who attend them.
"It doesn't do enough for students," Baker said.
After passage of the House bill, senior advisers in the White House suggested Bush veto the bill once it reached his desk.
U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings stated in a July 10 news release that the House bill fails to meet the needs of American students in precarious financial situations.
Spellings stated the bill does little to benefit America's neediest students because it diverts a majority of savings from the low-income students in school.
Both the House's bill, passed in the House on July 10 by a vote of 273-149, and the Senate's bill, passed 78-18, would provide more funding for Pell Grants and cap payments for student loans. Both pieces of legislation, if passed, would forgive student debt after 20 years of repayment in the House bill and 25 years in the Senate bill.
The House bill would shave off interest rates for student loans and provide tuition assistance to students who commit to teaching in impoverished or high-need areas, and the Senate bill would offer debt forgiveness to students who work in the public sector for at least 10 years after leaving school.
Each bill would require $18 billion of the federal budget, which would be gathered by rerouting funds for tax subsides made available to student loan companies.
Otto Fajen, legislative director for the Missouri chapter of the National Education Association, an education advocacy group, said the organization approves of the language contained in both measures.
Fajen said the organization intends to support the pieces of legislation by urging its members to contact their local members of Congress and voicing support for the measures.