"A bill that would put the federal government in charge of college student loans and eliminate the role of private lenders has easily passed its first major test in Congress. The U.S. House voted 253 to 171 on Thursday to approve the legislation," the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. "Edamerica and other lenders are now turning their focus to the Senate in hope they can persuade senators to include private industry participation in their version of the bill. The lenders are pushing an alternative that would make the existing program permanent and allow them to make student loans using their own money. Those loans would be placed with the government, and once the money was fully disbursed, the loan would be sold to the government."