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<p><span class="fck_mw_template">{{Education Policy (U.S.)|congress=110|bill=h2669}}</span> The <b>College Cost Reduction Act</b> (<a href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h2669/show">H.R.2669</a>) seeks to lower the cost of higher education by reducing lender subsidies by $19 billion and then investing those funds in programs that increase grant amounts to students, improve access to student loans, cut interest rates on student loans, provide for the repayment of parts of the loans through employment or service in areas of national need, and reward colleges for lowering costs to students. </p> <h2>Current status</h2> <p>The bill passed in the House by a vote of 273-149 on July 11, 2007. The Senate received the bill, and passed a slightly different version of it on July 20, 2007. Details of the changes can be found <a href="College Cost Reduction Act of 2007#Changes_to_the_bill">below</a>. </p><p><USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="house" rollcall="613" /> </p><p><br /> <USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="261" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 261, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p><USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="262" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 262, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p><USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="269" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 269, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p><USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="house" rollcall="849"/> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. House of Representatives record vote 849, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p><USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="258" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 258, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p><USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="260" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 260, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p><USvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="272" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 272, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p> <h2>Original bill summary</h2> <p><USbillinfo congress="110" bill="H.R.2669" /> </p> <h3>Student aid</h3> <p>In the bill, Pell Grants are authorized at $840 million in FY 2008 and are set to rise to $2.6 billion by 2017. Individual grant amounts are increased by $200 per year through 2010, $300 per year through 2011 and $500 per year through 2012 and thereafter. Maximum grant amounts per student are $7,600 through 2009, $8,600 through 2010, $9,600 through 2011, $10,600 through 2012 and $11,600 through 2013.<ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Also, working students can receive support of $3,750 for 2010 and $6,000 by 2013. The amount is higher by about $600 per year for independent students without dependents other than a spouse. Means testing for grants would be simplified and the income threshold would be raised from $20,000 to $30,000. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p> <h3>Affordable student loans</h3> <p>Interest rates on education loans granted after July 1, 2006 are set at 6.8% on the principal balance. The rate is gradually decreased until it reaches 4.4% by July 1, 2012. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Federal insurance on student loans is raised from $5,500 to $7,500 with an aggregate cap raised from $23,000 to $30,500 for undergrads and from $65,500 to $73,000 for graduate students.<ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Allowances to lenders, where lenders can profit on the difference between the cost of the loaned money and the interest charged, is reduced to 1.79%. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Collection fees are lowered from 23% to 16% of the amount collected. Fees paid by lenders to the government for administering the program are increased slightly from 0.5% to 1.0% on new loans. Non-profit and small lenders are exempt from the fee. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Repayment of loans by service can be accomplished through service in an area of national need as long as there is no default on the loan before service. The employer may take over service of the loan or the loan may be canceled depending on the service. Early childhood educators in low-income communities, such as nurses, foreign language specialists, librarians, highly qualified bi-lingual teachers, child welfare workers, speech and language pathologists, and those in national service or public sector employment (police, fire, etc.) can have $1,000 forgiven yearly for five years. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Income or financial hardship and post-active duty status can also be taken into consideration regarding loan repayment. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p> <h3>Reducing the cost of college</h3> <p>The bill declares that no state may reduce the total amount it provides for public institutions of higher education for any academic year beginning on or after July 1, 2008, to an amount which is less than the average amount provided during the five most recent preceding academic years. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Colleges that do not participate can be fined up to $25,000. Colleges that have a net cost lower than the preceding year can receive a 25% increase to Pell Grant recipients attending that school. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p> <h3>Highly qualified teachers</h3> <p>The bill establishes a program to provide grants to institutions for payment to students pursuing a teaching career. The funds can be used to pay students' tuition, fees, housing, and room and board. Students must maintain a 3.25 grade point average in the first year, and must meet other criteria to qualify. Qualified applicants can benefit from loan tuition assistance of up to $4,000 per year.<ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p> <h3>Increasing college access</h3> <p>The bill invests in historically African American and minority colleges by providing grants to those institutions to increase enrollment, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as the physical sciences, computer science, and information technology. <ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">“Managing America: Education,”</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 13, 2007.</ref> </p> <h2>Passage</h2> <h3>House</h3> <p>The bill passed in the House with the above provisions on July 11, 2007. </p> <h3>Senate</h3> <h4> Changes to the bill </h4> <p>On July 20, 2007, the Senate passed an amended version of the bill. The bill differed from the House version in that it provided for additional grant activity. Students with the greatest need could be awarded a cost of attendance grant based on need minus the expected family contribution and any Pell Grant amounts already awarded.<ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">"Managing America: Education,"</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 20, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Also amended were some of the loan forgiveness provisions to detail under what circumstances forgiveness could take place. Also, the provision in the underlying bill that would reduce from 23% to 16% the amount a collection agency could earn on the amount collected is raised to 24% on funds collected between 2003 and September 2007 but is then dropped to 16% thereafter.<ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">"Managing America: Education,"</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 20, 2007.</ref> </p><p>Because the bill allows funds granted to states to be transferred to non-profit organizations that promote a better understanding and access to student loans and grants, the substitute requires that the non-profit recipient has been in existence before the bill is enacted and is operating offering information, assistance and other required activities.<ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">"Managing America: Education,"</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 20, 2007.</ref> </p><p>The Senate considered waiving the Budget Act, thus clearing the way for a direct vote on an amendment to curtail certain Social Security benefits. The motion failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to move to the direct vote.<ref name="OpenCongress">OpenCongress' info page on <a href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h2669/show">College Cost Reduction Act of 2007</a></ref> </p><p><usvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="263" /><br> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 263, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p>The Senate also considered waiving the Budget Act for another amendment, this one "to provide interim relief for shortages in employment-based visas for aliens with extraordinary ability and advanced degrees and for nurses."<ref>THOMAS page on <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SP02339:">S.AMDT.2339</a>.</ref> </p><p><usvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="266" /><br> </p><p><span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 266, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p> <h4>Final passage</h4> <p>Following the August recess, the Senate agreed to the conference report on the bill in a vote of 79 to 12 on September 7, 2007, and the House agreed as well later that day in a vote of 292-97.<ref>Robert McElroy, <a href="http://www.theweekincongress.com/Member/JUL07_FULL/HR2669EDUChJUL13.htm">"Managing America: Education,"</a> <i>TheWeekInCongress</i>, July 20, 2007.</ref> </p><p><usvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="senate" rollcall="326" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. Senate record vote 326, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p><p><usvoteinfo year="2007" chamber="housee" rollcall="864" /> <span class="fck_mw_template">{{Record vote display|U.S. House of Representatives record vote 864, 110th Congress, Session 1}}</span> </p> <h2>Articles and resources</h2> <h3>See also</h3> <h3>References</h3> <p><references/> </p> <h3>External resources</h3> <ul><li><a _fcknotitle="true" href="House Committee on Education and Labor">House Committee on Education and Labor</a> </li><li><a _fcknotitle="true" href="110th Congress/Democratic Party agenda">110th Congress/Democratic Party agenda</a> </li><li><a _fcknotitle="true" href="110th Congress">110th Congress</a> </li></ul> <h3>External articles</h3> <p><span class="fck_mw_template">{{congresspedia}}</span> </p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Category:U.S._legislation">U.S._legislation</a> <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Category:Student_loan_industry">Student_loan_industry</a>

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