Legislative News RSS

Sen. Durbin Urges Treasury Secretary To Protect Private Loan Borrowers With Plan To Help Private Student Loan Providers
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Wednesday to protect private loan borrowers as part of any plan to use federal relief funding to help for-profit lenders of private student loans. To protect students and families borrowing private loans Durbin asked that the plan increase consumer protections for private student loan borrowers, cap interest rates, offer income-contingent and income-based repayment options, and allow private loan borrowers to renegotiate more reasonable terms for their loan.

Student Aid Alliance Pushes Immediate $500 Pell Increase
An immediate $500 increase in the maximum Pell Grant would stimulate the economy, ease the transition of displaced workers by helping them retrain for their next job, and keep the foundation of the federal student aid programs solid, the Student Aid Alliance wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders Wednesday. The letter asks Congress to include assistance to students through a maximum Pell Grant increase as part of any legislation to stimulate the American economy. The Student Aid Alliance is a coalition of higher education organizations (including NASFAA) that represent a variety of higher education interests, but share the common goal of increasing student aid for students and families.

ED Provides Update On PLUS Loan Auction Program
In response to questions from NASFAA, the Department of Education has provided some additional details about the PLUS loan auction program that will be implemented on July 1, 2009. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) stipulates that beginning in the 2009-10 award year, all new parent PLUS loans must be made through a "pilot" auction program. Some schools are growing anxious about the Department's timetable in implementing the pilot program since it will require additional administrative work. Obama's Promises, Vision To Collide With Reality (Associated Press)
"Over a two-year campaign, Barack Obama laid out a vision for the nation's future in soaring speeches that enthralled his audiences," the Associated Press reports. "With his victory in the presidential election on Tuesday, those goals will collide with daunting realities."

Obama On Higher Ed (Inside Higher Ed)
"Over the course of two years leading up to his election, Sen. Barack Obama has given many policy addresses and issued many proposals about education that may guide his work in office - at least after he deals with the economy, Iraq and Afghanistan," Inside Higher Ed reports. "Here are some of the highlights."

America Gets A Professor In Chief (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
"The 2008 presidential election has broken so many political barriers that historians may overlook one unusual fact: When Barack Obama takes the oath of office next January alongside his running mate, Joe Biden, it will be the first time in history that the president, vice president, and both of their spouses have worked in higher education," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "No one knows how the academic experiences of the executive-branch principals will shape the next administration. But that has not stopped presidential historians and higher-education officials from speculating about how a professor in chief might govern."

Democrats Win Big In Congressional Races But Face Spending Constraints (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
"Democrats expanded their majorities in Congress yesterday, with poll results available as of early Wednesday indicating the party was likely to pick up several seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and at least five in the Senate, but fall shy of the 60-vote majority they would need in that chamber to block Republican filibusters," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "The Democrats' gains, coupled with the election of Barack Obama, give the party more power than it has had since Bill Clinton took office in the early 90s."

Good Showing For Higher Ed Ballot Measures (Inside Higher Ed)
"With the economy in a downward spiral, voters in states across the country still showed some tolerance Tuesday for funding higher education projects," Inside Higher Ed reports. "Referendums and ballot measures related to higher education include the following."