The HEA reauthorization conference report is 99 percent done and should be completed in early August, said Representative Ric Keller (R-FL), ranking member of the House higher education subcommittee, during a general session at NASFAA’s annual conference yesterday. Both the House and the Senate have long passed HEA reauthorization bills, but have had trouble negotiating compromises on the differences between them. A major setback, according to Keller, is the recent illness of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who was the Senate’s lead negotiator.
Keller went on to predict that HEA reauthorization will likely be the only major legislation handled this year. Congress is scheduled for recess in August and then most legislators will be involved in upcoming elections, making any other major legislation unlikely.
One of the few remaining sticking points in the legislation centers on the 90/10 rule, according to Keller. At question is whether the law that requires for-profit schools to show that 10 percent of their revenues come from sources other than federal financial aid should stay or go.
When asked about additional legislation to address the credit crunch, Keller said that in the interest of "straight talk," he did not believe there would be any further legislative action without first seeing how well the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act (ECASLA) works.
"We’ll have to see how the financial markets shake out in the next couple of years, but we are going to maintain our commitment so that all kids rich and poor can go to college," said Keller.
Keller is hopeful that ECASLA will help ease the student loan crunch and he reaffirmed his commitment to both the FFEL and Direct Loan programs. "I’m a big believer in competition between the Direct Loan and FFEL program," Keller said.
Despite his support of recent lender subsidy cuts, Keller believes that lenders have been cut to the bone. The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) and the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) collectively cut $39 billion in lender subsidies over the last few years and redirected those funds to other federal student aid programs. Keller said that he supported the CCRAA and the student loan interest rate reductions and other benefits that came along with that legislation.
Keller said he was the only Republican in the president’s office when the bill was signed into law last September. And that isn’t the first time Keller has found himself at odds with his political party. Keller has repeatedly defended the Perkins Loan program and has opposed Bush administration attempts to eliminate the program.
On his first day in Congress, when many others were attending welcome parties, Keller recounted how he went down to the House floor and immediately filed legislation to dramatically increase the Pell Grant. It has taken nearly seven years, but Keller was pleased to announce that the Pell Grant would finally begin increasing - albeit gradually - over the next few years thanks to the CCRAA, a bill that many Republicans initially opposed.
Keller acknowledged that additional Pell Grant funding is needed, but pointed to two main obstacles that could prevent it: program costs and "skyrocketing" college tuition. The 2008 high school graduating class will be the largest in history, according to Keller. To even increase the maximum Pell Grant by $100 would increase the overall cost of the program by $420 million. Keller predicts that it will be possible to increase the Pell Grant in future years because after 2008, the number of high school students will begin to decrease, which will ease fiscal pressures on the Pell Grant program.
Keller said Congress is also wary of increasing Pell Grants without fully understanding why tuition continues to increase, often at the same rate as financial aid increases. "It is incredibly frustrating to approve increases in the Pell Grant only to have those increases totally wiped out by tuition increases," said Keller. "We don’t want federal price controls but we want to do something."
One thing Keller would most like to see is a significant increase in the number of articulation agreements between community colleges and 4-year universities. "These articulation agreements are the passport out of poverty," Keller said.
He praised elite universities that are now using a portion of their endowments to help low income students pay for college. "I know not every school can do that, but I’m glad to see some schools doing this," said Keller.
His commitment to higher education and financial aid come from his own experiences. Keller grew up in a single-parent home with his mother who worked as a secretary. Keller tried saving for his own tuition and ended up relying on both Pell Grants and student loans. Even after financial aid, Keller explained that he still had unmet need and was only able to find to attend because of help from a generous family friend who was willing to pay his college expenses. He did not take that generosity for granted. He went on to receive his bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University, where he graduated first in his class. He received his law degree from Vanderbilt University a few years later. Keller says that those experiences helped solidify his commitment to financial aid and opened his eyes to the work of financial aid administrators.
"I thank you for making lives better each day," said Keller.
By Justin Draeger
NASFAA Associate Director of Communications
Additional Media Coverage on NASFAA Conference
Posted 07/08/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
