On September 7th, 2007, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed
the College Cost Reduction and Access Act by broad bipartisan votes of 79 to 12
and 292 to 97 respectively. The bill now goes to the President who has said he
will sign the legislation into law.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act is the most meaningful higher
education reform in more than 15 years. The bill addresses the financial
challenges of access and affordability that face American college students. It
provides billions of dollars a year in additional grant aid to low-income students
through the Pell Grant program. It will also help students address the burden
of rising student debt through lower interest rates and a new repayment system.
The bill also trims excessive subsidies that benefit a handful of banks and
directs them to millions of students and families who are working to pay for
college.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will:
- Increase the maximum Pell
Grant award by $490 for each of the next two school years, by $690 for the
following two school years and by $1,090 for each following year. The Pell
Grant is the nation’s premier college access program, providing grants to
5 million low-income students each year. The maximum Pell Grant is
currently $4,310.
- Create an income-based
repayment program that allows borrowers to repay their loans as a
percentage of their income. This new program will protect borrowers with
low salaries from having to make unmanageable payments. As a result
students will be able to make employment and life decisions based on their
values rather than the volume of their debt.
- Reduce interest rates on
student loans for more than 5 million low and middle-income student
borrowers receiving subsidized Stafford
loans.
- Finance increased education
spending by reducing subsidies to student lenders. Lenders will receive a
reduced rate of return for offering federal student loans and a slightly
reduced reinsurance rate from the federal government. As a result, the
increased grant aid and loan benefits will have no additional cost to
taxpayers.
