Today, President Bush formally signed the College Cost Reduction and
Access Act of 2007 into law. The bill, which passed in the US Senate
and the US House on September 7, 2007, is the largest federal
investment in higher education since passage of the GI bill. It boosts
the federal loan and grant programs by $20 billion dollars. It will go
into effect for the 2008-2009 academic year.
The Act reduces interest rates for more than 5 million low and middle
income borrowers over the next four years and creates a loan repayment
program that is based on a graduate's income. It also raises the Pell
grant maximum award; currently over 5 million students receive this
federal need based grant aid.
“At Arizona State University, since 24% of the student body carries a
Pell grant to pay for college, and 51% of the student body graduates
with student loans, this act is a significant victory for students and
should help more students be able to obtain a college degree,” said
Elizabeth Simonhoff, President of Undergraduate Student Government at
ASU Tempe. The average loan debt for students graduating with a
Bachelor’s degree at Arizona State University is $17,016 .
"We've asked both President Bush and Congress over the past two years
to act," said Cara Lancellotti, an Arizona PIRG student leader. "With
the passage of this bill, they show that they heard us loud and clear."
College students through Arizona PIRG, the Arizona Students’
Association, and student governments organized student call in days to
Congress, testified before the US Department of Education, created an
on-line student debt yearbook, and took a large inflatable ball and
chain symbolizing loan debt on tour across the country to call
attention to the negative consequences of student loan debt.
"We applaud the bipartisan support in Washington, D.C. for keeping
college affordable and accessible for all Americans," remarked Lindsay
Bayuk, Board Chair of the Arizona Students’ Association.
