During his weekly radio address to the nation on Saturday, President Bush called on Congress to get the "Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act" (H.R. 5715) to his desk as soon as possible. Bush said that a delay of even a week could make it "impossible for this legislation to help students going to school this fall."
"A slowdown in the economy shouldn't mean a downturn in educational opportunities," said Bush. He went on to assure Americans that the Department of Education is ready to use its lender of last resort provisions if federal loan shortages occurs.
But more needs to be done, according to Bush who called on Congress to pass H.R. 5715 so that his Administration would have "greater authority" to buy Federal student loans.
H.R. 5715 passed overwhelmingly in the House two weeks ago but has not yet been taken up by the Senate. The bill would make significant changes to the student loan programs in an attempt to stave off any potential shortages in federal student loans brought on by the current credit crunch. One of the provisions would allow the Department to act as a secondary market and purchase loans from student loan providers. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a similar bill - S. 2815 - in the Senate nearly four weeks ago, but it has yet to be taken up in committee.
There are rumors that instead of focusing on S. 2815, the Senate might instead move on H.R. 5715 as early as this week.
Last week Kennedy released a statement that indicated he was more than ready to move on this type of legislation.
"I welcome the Administration's support for prompt Senate action on our legislation to prevent the crisis in the credit markets from becoming a crisis for students and families already struggling to pay for college," said Kennedy.
Action on this legislation cannot come fast enough for many concerned about possible shortages in student loans. Last week NASFAA President and CEO Dr. Phil Day urged Congress to continue working on H.R. 5715 after the Administration determined it could not use the Federal Financing Bank to provide liquidity in the student loan market.
"I urge you to continue action of H.R. 5715, which would address many of the liquidity issues that could potentially disrupt students’ access to federal loans," said Day.
Additional Resources and Media Coverage
By Justin Draeger
NASFAA Assistant Director of Communications
Posted 04/28/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.
