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After what seemed like a never-ending battle between the Senate and the House, a compromise was finally reached on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. What’s more, based on White House reports, President Bush is even going to retract his earlier threat to veto the bill. The proposal was sent to the president on Friday, and a signature is expected shortly.
The main points of the bill include an increase in Pell Grant allocations to students and a decrease in government subsidies to student lenders. According to Bloomberg L.P., about $20 billion of the estimated subsidy savings will be redirected to student loan programs. Among these is the Pell Grant program which, for the 2007-2008 year, awards a maximum $4,300 per student per year. Over the next few years, the maximum sum is expected to rise to $5,400.
Lenders are obviously unpleased and warn that the new bill will harm students in the long run. Certain lender and Congress members predict the changes will push many smaller lenders out of business and will lead to cuts in fee reductions for students with good payment records. However, with many large lenders still competing for business, the bill is likely to help much more than it hurts.
Additional bill provisions include a forgiveness plan that will allow students to stop loan payments after ten years of work in public sector fields such as education. Only those who borrow under the Federal Direct Loan Program are eligible, but students who borrow under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) can still apply by consolidating their loans under the direct plan.
The bill was initially proposed as a reply to the student loan investigation that uncovered numerous illegal actions within the student loan industry. Many student lenders were found to have offered financial aid officials money in exchange for spots on preferred-lender lists. As the investigation continued, incentives such as stock tips, vacation packages and tickets to entertainment venues were found to be offered regularly.
As always, students should look to free grants and scholarships before taking out loans. However low the rates are, loans still have to be repaid. By conducting a free scholarship search at Scholarships.com, students will be exposed to a world of financial aid opportunities that may enable them to bypass loans altogether.