Update: Student Loan/Healthcare Reform Bill Passes the House
March 22, 2010 by Joel Milani
The Saga Continues. . .
Sunday night, the House of Representatives voted on and passed a version of legislation set to overhaul the current student lending system, according to an article in the Washingtion Post. Under the new system, students would borrow directly from the Department of Education, rather than from federally subsidized student loan companies, a move projected to positively impact the federal budget. This is the latest development in the ongoing debate over what form the overhaul will take, how it will be incorporated into the healthcare bill and how the potential savings will be allocated.
Earlier estimates projected the savings to be $87 billion over the course of 10 years, but more recent estimates, which take into account Pell Grant funding issues, say it’s much less. Accoring to EduWeek.org:
“in part because of the expanded need for Pell Grants and in part because more schools joined the Direct Loan program over the past year, the CBO’s savings estimate is now much lower; one recent estimate was about $67 billion.”
The Pell Grant system, a federally funded effort to provide financial assistance to lower-income college students, has seen a spike in applicants since national interest has turned to higher education as a way to secure an edge in the lean job market. The student-loan legislation would provide additional funding to the Pell Grant system, enabling an increase in the maximum value of the Pell Grant (scheduled to reach $5,550 next year) while adjusting it annually according to inflation.
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See our earlier post for more information and links to other insightful articles about student-loan reform. We’ll continue to follow the progression of the financial aid bill, and keep you up-to-date on this blog. Or get a comprehensive look at financial aid for college.
About the Author: 
For all those givers to break the 8.7 million dollar deficit
of learning per year(give 43K per year times 100 people=4 million 300 thousand dollars.
Take 4 million, 300 thousand times one thousand=
43 million(half way to 87 million). So with all the money
people give to charities let’s pay those loans off by
donating our money to a good learning cause.
Pay off the Loan deficit now half the problem is solved.
The Healfth Reform bill was put on the student loan because students not only need to do well in their grades & study but keep themselves healthy not land in a hospital.