Yesterday, it took less than ten minutes for the House of Representatives to debate and approve, by voice vote, H.R. 3927, the Third Higher Education Act Extension of 2007. The bill extends program authority to continue all programs contained in the Higher Education Act (HEA), including the Title IV student aid programs, for six months until April 30, 2008. The current extension expires on October 30, 2007. The legislation now goes to the Senate for action.
The bill was managed on the floor by authorizing Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Chairman Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX) and the Ranking Minority Member Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL). During debate both Hinojosa and Keller urged their colleagues to approve H.R. 3927 and each pledged to work in a bipartisan manner to complete action reauthorizing the HEA by next year's deadline.
How many times has the HEA been extended? Did the reauthorization even get close to finishing? The answers follow:
First Extension: Automatic
The last time the HEA was reauthorized was in 1998 and that authorization expired five years later on September 30, 2003; however, extension authority in the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) was triggered. GEPA allows for an automatic one-year extension of existing statutory provisions of an authorized ED program contained in a statute. Consequently, the GEPA provisions were used to extend the current law through September 30, 2004; even that deadline was missed.
Second Extension: Congressional Action
Next, the Congress passed H.R. 5185, the Higher Education Extension Act of 2004, continuing HEA program authorizations until September 30, 2005.
Third Extension: Congressional Action with Senate Committee Reporting HEA Reauthorization
Missing that deadline, the Congress approved a three-month HEA extension until December 31, 2005, by passage of H.R. 3784, the Higher Education Extension Act of 2005.
In September 2005, the Senate authorizing committee reported its HEA Reauthorization bill, S. 1614. And in a bold step, the Senate attached its HEA Reauthorization bill to the Reconciliation bill, S. 1932.
Fourth Extension: Congressional Action with Senate HEA Reauthorization Bill Reported And Attached To Reconciliation Bill
H.R. 4525, the Second Higher Education Extension Act of 2005, was approved by the Congress in December 2005. The bill extended program and spending authority under the Higher Education Act until March 31, 2006.
However, in February 2006, the Congress completed action on S. 1932, the Conference Report on Budget Reconciliation. This law cut a net of $12.7 billion from the student loan program lender and guaranty agency subsidies, however, many of the bill's changes also resulted in savings by affecting students and families by raising interest rate by establishment of fixed interest rates in the Federal loan programs and a required default fee; it created two new programs ACG and SMART Grants, as well as, increased first-year loan limits from $2,625 to $3,500 and raising the second-year loan limits from $3,500 to $4,500, but the legislation increased annual loan limits without increasing aggregate loan limits. The bill also had a five-year phase-out/phase down of student origination fees.
But, even though the Senate took the bold step and attached its HEA reauthorization legislation to S. 1932, the House did not follow the Senate's lead and do the same. Therefore, HEA reauthorization lost another chance to be finalized when Reconciliation negotiators dropped the Senate's reauthorization provisions absent no House HEA reauthorization bill.
Fifth Extension: Congressional Action with House HEA Reauthorization Bill Passed
The Higher Education Extension Act of 2006, H.R. 4911, was approved by the Congress in March 2006 and this legislation extended HEA program authority until June 30, 2006.
On March 30, the House of Representatives approved by a 221 to 199 vote the College Access and Opportunity Act (H.R. 609) reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA).
Sixth Extension: Congressional Action
In June, Congress passed, H.R. 5603, the Second Higher Education Extension Act of 2006, extending HEA program authority until September 30, 2006.
Seventh Extension: Congressional Action
The Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2006, H.R. 6138, was approved in September and that bill temporarily extended the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 through June 30, 2007.
As mentioned earlier, the Senate attached its HEA Reauthorization, S. 1614 to S. 1932 the Reconciliation bill that was signed into law by the president in early 2006, but the Conference Committee stripped out the Senate's HEA reauthorization provisions. But, S. 1614, as reported by the Senate authorizing committee, was not dead and could be scheduled for debate and Senate floor action could have occurred anytime after it was reported out of committee (September 8, 2005) and placed on the Senate calendar in November of that year.
However, then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), never brought the bill up for consideration before the full Senate; it languished in late 2005, languished all of 2006, and was dead when Congress adjourned after holding an after the elections "lame duck" session without action on the Senate bill.
While opportunities abounded to complete a HEA reauthorization, Republicans did not take advantage of those opportunities in a coordinated fashion. When control of the Congress shifted after the 2006 elections to Democrats, Republicans lost their chance reauthorize the HEA with their priorities, program preferences, and policies.
Now, it was the chance of congressional Democrats, in the majority for the first time since 1995, to produce a HEA Reauthorization bill according to their priorities, program preferences, and policies.
Eighth Extension: Congressional Action
With yesterday's action in the House by passage of H.R. 3927 and with action expected, but not assured, in the Senate on that bill shortly, Congress will have extended HEA program authority eight times with the latest extension expiring on April 30, 2008.
This past July, the Congress passed and the president signed into law in September the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, H.R. 2669. That Reconciliation bill contained savings of approximately $22 billion achieved by reducing lender subsidies. Using some of those subsidies, H.R. 2669 provides mandatory increases in the Pell Grant maximum award; cuts interest rates in half on subsidized undergraduate Stafford loans over the next four years; expands eligibility through needs analysis to include and serve more students with financial need; and, provides for loan forgiveness for borrowers in certain public service jobs among other provisions.
Also, this past July the Senate passed its HEA reauthorization bill S. 1642, the Higher Education Amendments of 2007.
The House has yet to act with authorizing committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA) indicating his preference is to complete action on the "Leave No Child Behind" Elementary and Secondary education programs reauthorization before turning to the HEA reauthorization.
Ninth Extension: Congressional Action? Speculation and Analysis
At this time no one can predict whether or not Congress will send a HEA reauthorization bill to the White House by April 30, 2008. The Senate has passed their bill this past July; it is up to the House to pass their version. And, then the two competing versions go to a Conference Committee to iron out their differences. Then, the Conference Report is passed by the House and Senate and sent to the president for his approval or veto.
A couple of things are fairly clear. With passage of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, H.R.2669, it is unlikely that major additional Title IV funding will occur in the loan or grant programs since any major injection of funding would have to be offset by further spending cuts in the loan programs or by using other options which are highly unlikely to be used such as cuts in other federal programs or tax cuts.
Democrats, understanding lessons given to them by Republicans, have adopted an almost biblical belief that if they are to increase a program's benefits, then those benefits must be offset by either other budget cuts or tax increases (and tax increases are highly unlikely, except in any tax legislation, which provides postsecondary educational benefits - NASFAA will keep you informed on that front).
Yet, there could be some limited benefits accruing to students either in the form of modest need analysis changes or eligibility expansions, as long as such changes had small budgetary impacts.
If we are to have a HEA reauthorization in this Congress, then changes made by the national legislators may help streamline office operations modifying Return of Title IV Funds requirement or other such administrative requirements.
As a HEA reauthorization bill goes forward there no doubt will be legislation on preferred lender lists and prohibited inducements exemplified in the Sunshine Act already passed by the House and Senate which passed the Sunshine Act as part of its HEA reauthorization bill.
It is almost irresistible for Congress, but expect more congressional micromanagement instructing ED to do certain things that schools must implement along with more reporting requirements for schools.
Finally, all HEA reauthorizations have surprises. Let me suggest one. With the recent College Board report on college costs this week you might do well to be prepared for some response by the Congress. Consider this:
"Tuition and fees at public and private universities have risen this year at more than double the rate of inflation, with prices increasing faster at public institutions, the College Board said in reports released yesterday," wrote Jonathan Glater in The New York Times. Regardless of the excellent context provided by College Board spokeswomen Sandy Baum, Americans worry about affording a postsecondary education, as NASFAA members know all too well.
House authorizing committee Chairman George Miller, D-CA, in a press release on the College Board report stated, "With the recent enactment of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, the Democratic Congress has provided urgently needed financial help to students and families trying to pay for college. But as this report reminds us, there is still a great amount of work to be done. We will continue to build on these efforts by strengthening and reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. One of our primary goals for the reauthorization will be to develop strategies to help rein in increases in college tuition. Making college more affordable and accessible for all qualified students is a top priority for this Congress."
Former authorizing full committee and subcommittee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon was interested in and tried to legislatively rein in college costs with his HEA reauthorization legislation when Republicans controlled the House; he backed off some of his more controversial measures under pressure from the higher education community. But, consider this. What if Chairman Miller and Ranking Minority Member McKeon decide to work out some type of compromise legislation to rein in college tuition increases; politically such a compromise may as unstoppable as such a plan is unwise. This may or may not happen, but there is always something novel, unpredictable, and, far too often, negative that comes out of a HEA reauthorization along with the positive aspects.
Other Resources
By Larry Zaglaniczny
NASFAA Director for Congressional Relations
Posted 10/24/07 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
