President Bush signed into law the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715) Wednesday. The bill is the culmination of whirlwind legislative action taken by members of the House and Senate over the last three weeks, and both sides of the aisle were exuberant about the bipartisan nature and speed at which the bill moved.
The bill makes significant changes to federal student aid programs, including several that seek to provide liquidity in the federal student loan market. On April 30, Today's News provided a comprehensive summary of H.R. 5715 and the Senate's amendments.
"I am optimistic that we are on the right path to ensure that no student or family is denied a low-cost federal student loan this year," said NASFAA President and CEO Dr. Phil Day in a press statement released earlier today. "This law contains a number of provisions that NASFAA has been recommending since the onset of the market turbulence. The political process can at times be extremely divisive, but Congress and the White House put the needs of students and families first by moving quickly on this bill."
Day also praised last week's decision by the Federal Reserve to allow financial institutions to use AAA asset-backed securities made up of FFELP student loans to be pledged as collateral when borrowing from the Fed's Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF).
"Last week's move by the Fed will also help provide liquidity in the student loan market, but additional mechanisms to ensure rapid and direct liquidity in the marketplace may be needed," Day added. "Congress should continue to explore allowing the Federal Financing Bank and the Federal Home Loan Banks emergency authority to provide student lenders access to additional capital should it be needed."
Additional Media Coverage
By Justin Draeger
NASFAA Associate Director of Communications
Posted 05/07/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
