2008 Woodie Awards
Our View: New legislation to make college more affordable
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Opinion
A bit of good news for college students seemed to fly under the radar a few weeks back. At the end of September, President George W. Bush signed off on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, which has the potential to revolutionize the college finance industry.
In case you hadn't heard about the bill's passage, here's the rundown: The CCRAA will expand the Federal Pell Grant program by more than $11 billion while cutting the federal Stafford Loan interest rate in half over the next four years, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. Pell Grants are a need-based financial aid that don't have to be repaid.
It's easy to sit back and sling criticism at politicians, pessimistically recalling all the ways in which they've failed us and why they have no business being in the positions they are in. But at The Rocket, we think it's important to recognize when the folks we elect into office get it right, too.
And by making a statement with the passage of the CCRAA, both Congress and the President have gotten it right. While pork-barrel spending is usually at the center of Capitol Hill financial discussions, that wasn't the case on Sept. 27, the day the bill was signed.
That's because both Democrats and Republicans were, commendably, able to put aside their differences, if only for a moment, on an issue that crossed party lines: an investment in the students of the future, and consequently, an investment in the country's future. This unity is both admirable and telling of Congress' desire to make college a reality for those who want it, as members of the two parties don't often agree on financial matters. This can be evidenced by the recent veto of the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which would have provided an extra $35 billion for children in families who can't afford private insurance.
While rising tuition and fees are constantly on the minds of penny-pinching students, the CCRAA will certainly provide relief to students, including those who come from low-income families. The CCRAA's expansion of Pell Grants will reach a maximum of $5,400 by 2012, which would cover more than 80 percent of an SRU in-state undergraduate's costs based on the 2007-08 fee schedule.
The real beauty of the CCRAA is that it doesn't just benefit those on the low end of the economic scale, but rather, anyone taking out a loan. The CCRAA's future halving of Stafford Loan interest rates will also lighten students' college debts after graduation. The interest-rate decrease brought about by the CCRAA could mean saving thousands of dollars for hundreds of students at SRU alone, as more than $31 million in loans was allocated to SRU students during the 2006-07 school year.
For college students, the costs of rent, textbooks and other expenses will always be a reality. However, it's good to see that the federal government is doing its part to make the financial burden of college a little easier to handle, while at the same time making college more accessible to many.
In case you hadn't heard about the bill's passage, here's the rundown: The CCRAA will expand the Federal Pell Grant program by more than $11 billion while cutting the federal Stafford Loan interest rate in half over the next four years, from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. Pell Grants are a need-based financial aid that don't have to be repaid.
It's easy to sit back and sling criticism at politicians, pessimistically recalling all the ways in which they've failed us and why they have no business being in the positions they are in. But at The Rocket, we think it's important to recognize when the folks we elect into office get it right, too.
And by making a statement with the passage of the CCRAA, both Congress and the President have gotten it right. While pork-barrel spending is usually at the center of Capitol Hill financial discussions, that wasn't the case on Sept. 27, the day the bill was signed.
That's because both Democrats and Republicans were, commendably, able to put aside their differences, if only for a moment, on an issue that crossed party lines: an investment in the students of the future, and consequently, an investment in the country's future. This unity is both admirable and telling of Congress' desire to make college a reality for those who want it, as members of the two parties don't often agree on financial matters. This can be evidenced by the recent veto of the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which would have provided an extra $35 billion for children in families who can't afford private insurance.
While rising tuition and fees are constantly on the minds of penny-pinching students, the CCRAA will certainly provide relief to students, including those who come from low-income families. The CCRAA's expansion of Pell Grants will reach a maximum of $5,400 by 2012, which would cover more than 80 percent of an SRU in-state undergraduate's costs based on the 2007-08 fee schedule.
The real beauty of the CCRAA is that it doesn't just benefit those on the low end of the economic scale, but rather, anyone taking out a loan. The CCRAA's future halving of Stafford Loan interest rates will also lighten students' college debts after graduation. The interest-rate decrease brought about by the CCRAA could mean saving thousands of dollars for hundreds of students at SRU alone, as more than $31 million in loans was allocated to SRU students during the 2006-07 school year.
For college students, the costs of rent, textbooks and other expenses will always be a reality. However, it's good to see that the federal government is doing its part to make the financial burden of college a little easier to handle, while at the same time making college more accessible to many.
