"Congress and the Bush administration have struggled this year to find the right type and amount of federal subsidy that will ensure that students have access to fairly priced government-backed loans," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service suggests they may be attempting a nearly impossible task. The report by the research service, a federal agency that does policy analysis for lawmakers from both parties, asserts that the government's system of distributing money through private lenders is chronically handicapped by wide variations among participating lenders and their cost structures. The Congressional Research Service report could embolden calls expected next year in Congress to overhaul the student-loan system."