Last week the House overwhelmingly passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, a bill that would reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) through 2012. Last summer the Senate unanimously passed the Higher Education Amendments of 2007, a similar bill that would also reauthorize the HEA.

"These two bills bring us closer to HEA reauthorization than we've been in several years," said NASFAA Director for Congressional Relations Larry Zaglaniczny. The last time Congress fully reauthorized the HEA was in 1998.

But there's still work to be done. The House and Senate bills contain significant differences that are being reconciled in a conference committee. The president has also signaled a possible veto without some changes, which Congress will consider during the conference process. After the bills have been conferenced together, they will be brought back to the House and Senate for a final vote before going to the president's desk to become law.

NASFAA will be in contact with Congressional leaders to voice support of specific provisions in each bill that will benefit students most. NASFAA will also be providing members with a work-in-progress comparison chart that details the differences between the two bills in the near future.

By Justin Draeger
NASFAA Assistant Director for Communications

Posted 02/13/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.