Statement of Rich Williams, Higher Education Associate,
representing hundreds of thousands of students across the country, on
the passage of historic student aid legislation in the House.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 21,
2010 |
CONTACT: Rich
Williams
Higher
Education Associate
602-228-0684
rwilliams@pirg.org
|
WASHINGTON, March 21 – Higher Education Associate Rich Williams issued a
statement on the passage of the final reconciliation package today by
U.S. House of Representatives:
“Today the House of
Representatives voted to pass historic financial aid legislation which
renews the promise of federal aid programs that have failed to keep pace
with the financial realities of family incomes and college costs.
In
a student aid system that has been de-prioritizing federal grant
programs, this bill will remove wasteful and unwarranted middleman
subsidies that are currently going to big banks and lenders and direct
that money to student grant aid. This investment will provide immediate
relief for millions of students who might otherwise abandon their
college aspirations or drop out of college all together when forced to
rely on loan debt to pay for it.
Passage of this bill signals a
shift in federal priorities. We applaud the House of Representatives for
renewing the commitment to access to higher education and urge the
Senate to swiftly pass the legislation in the coming week.”
