The US House of
Representatives today passed the "College Cost Reduction Act of 2007" (HR 2669)
by a vote of 273-149. The bill will substantially increase the purchasing power
of the Pell Grant, the nation's premiere need based grant program which benefits
millions of low income students, increasing the maximum grant amount by $100 for
five years beginning in 2008-9. It will make student loan debt more affordable
by cutting the interest rate on student loans in half, to 3.4 percent, by 2012, and by
capping loan repayment amounts to a reasonable percentage of a graduate's
income.
U.S. PIRG Student Debt Program Director Christine
Lindstrom had the following statement:
Today, Congressional leaders responded to millions of
students and their families struggling to pay for college by making a major
investment of $20 billion dollars in federal student aid programs. We applaud
House Education Chair George Miller (D-CA) and others who have fought vigorously
for these reforms. HR 2669 goes a long way toward solving the college
affordability and access crisis in the country.
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Iowa PIRG is part of the
federation of state Public Interest Research Groups. State PIRGs are
non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organizations. The PIRG Higher
Education Project was established in 1994 to secure more aid for students, with
a focus on additional grants, reduced debt, and better service to students in
the federal financial aid system.
