By Audrey M. Marks
President Bush signed legislation Thursday that will make college more affordable for students in need.
The
new law provides $20 billion for the Federal Pell Grant Program, which
offers scholarships to students from low- and middle-income families.
The maximum Pell Grant will increase by $490 to $4,800 for the 2008-09
academic year and continue to increase until 2012 when the maximum
award will be $5,400 a year.
“Pell grants send an important
message to students in need: If you work hard and you stay in school
and you make the right choices, the federal government is going to
stand with you,” Bush said at the signing ceremony in the Old Executive
Office Building.
The law cuts interest rates in half, from 6.8
percent to 3.4 percent, over the next four years for new federally
backed student loans. The decrease will begin in July, when rates will
drop to 6 percent.
The law also includes:
• Manageable loan payments for borrowers with low-paying jobs, starting July 1, 2009.
• Tuition assistance of $4,000 a year for students who commit to teaching in public schools.
• Loan forgiveness for public service workers after 10 years of service and payments, beginning Oct. 1
Rep.
Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said getting the law passed had been a
fight from the beginning after proponents met resistance from bank and
student loan lobbyists, the Republican minority and the White House,
which in July threatened a presidential veto.
“It took
determination and tenacity to get this law through,” Courtney said
during a telephone press conference Thursday afternoon.
He said
33,576 Connecticut students currently receive Pell grants and, with the
change in income eligibility, that number will increase to 38,700
students.
While the increase in funding will be offset by cuts in
subsidies the government makes to banks that make student loans, Bush
said the law has some funding problems.
“The bill makes some
spending commitments that aren't paid for yet, and I look forward to
working with the Congress to ensure Pell Grant increases that are not
fully funded in this bill are paid for with offsets in other areas,”
Bush said.
But Courtney challenged the accuracy of the president's statement.
“All of us were puzzled by that remark,” Courtney said. “When we were
marking the bill up, the Congressional Budget Office determined there
were excess resources available because of the subsidies.”
Courtney
said Congress will now turn its attention to the Higher Education
Reauthorization Act. The legislation focuses on the criteria for
federal financial aid, the Stafford and Perkins loans, work-study for
eligible college students and an examination of the cost of college
tuition.
“Bottom line is we are not going to walk away from this issue with passage of this law,” Courtney said.
