Lots of action today to report:
- NASFAA President, Dr. Phil Day, in a letter to the membership today urged financial aid administrators to focus on the historic opportunity to make the Pell Grant a "true entitlement" and to come together to develop a new student loan model:
"If we simply oppose FFELP elimination without offering alternatives or including ourselves in the debate, schools will be forced to move to the Direct Loan program, either because the Obama budget will have been accepted or because ECASLA expires in 2010.
We must move forward in good faith and help design a system that works best for borrowers, taxpayers and institutions. In addition to the importance of providing a workable alternative to the abrupt elimination of FFELP, we must also remember the historic opportunity we have to make the Pell Grant a true entitlement. This is a goal that NASFAA has worked toward for decades, and there are many who never believed we would be so close to seeing this essential change enacted."
- CBA responded to Obama's televised speech on Friday with a press release, of which this is an excerpt from:
Interestingly, several months into this debate the CBA has not proposed a detailed and specific alternative student loan plan. Rather, in this press release, they recommended:
"CBA has called for Congress and the administration to convene a meeting of stakeholders including students, parents, consumer advocates, financial aid administrators, colleges, and loan providers to examine various proposals for change."
- Kevin Bruns, executive director of American Student Loan Providers, had an op-ed piece in Inside Higher Ed, "On Loan Plan, Think Twice":
- More on the "inside the Beltway game" on how the debate over reconciliation for the student loan reform bill transpired last week, from the Washington Monthly.
- One insider seemed to think that the reconciliation instructions that the House will vote on tomorrow will have an October 15th deadline, seeming to provide ample opportunity for lengthy debate on this issue.
great article , thanks; What I know and can say that Obam is doing well for people in dept and foreclosure. mini course on how to avoid forerclosure: http://www.obama-loanmodification.com
Posted by: johan Tekila | 11/12/2009 at 11:41 AM