House Votes to Reauthorize Higher Education Act
Party-line vote rejects several Democratic provisions to sharply contested bill
By David Pluviose
After years of partisan bickering, the House of Representatives has passed a measure reauthorizing the Higher Education Act for six years on a 221-199 near-party line vote. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration. While criticizing Democrat dissent over the bill, Republicans praised the measure, saying it strengthens the Pell Grant program, expands the Perkins student loan program, increases funding for minority-serving institutions and reauthorizes federal college access programs.
“We’ve provided a plan that expands the Pell Grant program for low-income students, provides parents and students with better information on college costs, simplifies the financial aid process, improves teacher training and strengthens institutions serving minorities,” says House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. “Unfortunately, the Democrats chose to play partisan games with this important issue by going back on good-faith negotiations that took place in recent weeks.”
Democrats blasted the bill for not doing enough to help student borrowers. An amendment by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., that would have reduced interest rates on subsidized student loans was voted down.
“Earlier this year, the Republicans cut $12 billion from the federal student aid programs in the largest raid on aid in history,” says Miller. “Americans need help paying for college, but they’re not getting any from this Congress.”
As it stands, the bill passed by the Republican majority in the House reauthorizes the Perkins Loan program — boosting loan limits from $4,000 to $5,500 for undergraduates and from $6,000 to $8,000 for graduate students — and allowing students to borrow at a 5 percent fixed interest rate. It also raises the maximum Pell Grant by $200 to $6,000, although that is essentially an empty number, because Congress rarely, if ever, appropriates the maximum amount. Pell Grants have been frozen at $4,050 for several years. The reauthorization also provides Pell Grant aid for students who attend college year-round.
House Republicans also touted the elimination of the “single-holder rule,” which forced students to consolidate loans with their original lender. The bill also mandates that colleges and universities disclose their credit transfer policies. And higher education institutions that increase tuition and fees at more than twice the rate of inflation over a three-year period will be publicly identified and have to explain the reason for the increases.
