Student Loans
College costs are growing rapidly and financial aid hasn’t kept up. Close to 70 percent of undergrads graduate with debt. In 2009, the average student borrower owed $27,600. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) of 2010 ensures that all federally funded student loans will be directed through the federal government’s Direct Loan Program (DLP,) saving $61 billion and using that money to fund increased Pell Grant funding. SAFRA abolished the Federal Education Loan Program (FFELP), which used subsidized loan companies to provide student loans.
Cry Wolf Quotes
The student-loan provisions buried in the health care legislation intentionally eliminate private-sector jobs at a time when our country can least afford to lose them.
As the national struggle to deal with a severe economic crisis and a national unemployment rate of 8.1 percent — the highest level since 1983 — it is a critical time to reinforce successful solutions, not abandon them. Ensuring the continuation of thousands of jobs for individuals singularly focused on helping millions of students enter and succeed in higher education is a “win-win” in today’s deeply stressed economy. It preserves jobs for the workers of today, while guaranteeing access to aid to millions of students whose skills will help maintain the nation’s pre-eminent place in the global economy.
Finally, the government should disclose that getting your student loan will become about as enjoyable as going to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Here is what they haven't told us: The Education Department will borrow money at 2.8 percent from the Treasury, lend it to you at 6.8 percent and spend the difference on new programs. So you'll work longer to pay off your student loan to help pay for someone else's education -- and to help your U.S. representative's reelection.
Related Laws and Rules
Evidence
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5 Myths About Student Loan Reform
Campus Progress: Almost all of the student loan industry's warning about SAFRA were wrong.
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Are Student Loan Companies Playing Politics With People’s Jobs
The definitive refutation of “job killer” cry wolf claims regarding SAFRA.
Resources
Campus Progress is the youth wing of the Center for American Progress. They do work in both advocacy and journalism.
Higher Education Watch is the New America Foundation's blog about the politics and policy of higher education.
