The House and Senate passed legislation (the conference report) affecting student loans on Friday September 7th. It is now in the hands of President Bush, who has said he will sign it despite some misgivings.
It is called the College Cost Reduction Act (H.R. 2669). Here is a summary from the National Association of Student Aid Administrators.
Here is a statement from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and one from Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.
The legislation is an attempt to address the increased costs of college, and the increasing tendency for college education to be funded through loans rather than grants, which was the case until about twenty years ago. The bill attempts to increase the amount of funds given to students for grants, and lower the interest rates charged to students.
For 2301, this issue provides a great opportunity to look at both ideology and the role elections play in public policy making. Liberals and conservatives have clearly defined positions on this subject.
The liberals, this fits in their egalitarian agenda plus their belief that certain programs are best served by government, not private industry. The grants are to be funded by a reduction in the amount of subsidies given to private lenders. Conservatives would oppose this effort since they base their ideology on the efficiencies of the private sector.
Ideology aside, we have an election underway and no presidential candidate--maybe I should say no presidential candidate that wants to win--wants to be seen as being against college education. This may make it difficult for Republicans to vote against it or for President Bush--who would still like to be seen as supportive of education--to veto it. I could be surprised though.
For 2302, this bill provides an insight into how the congressional bill making process works right now.
It also shows how the relationship between the legislative and executive branches vary depending on whether one part controls both (unified government) , or each is controlled by a different party (divided government). Chances are that this bill may not have made much headway if Republicans were still in charge of Congress. The bill's author, George Miller, is now chair of the House Education and Labor Committee and almost certainly used his position to push this forward.
