On September 29, the Senate approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 6138) to extend programs authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965 (P.L. 105-244) through June 30, 2007. The House approved the measure by voice vote on September 27. President Bush signed the bill into law on September 30 (P.L. 109-292). Legislation (H.R. 5603) to temporarily extend these programs through September 30, 2006 was passed by Congress in June (see The Source,, 6/23/06).
H.R. 6138 includes a provision that would cancel the federal student loan debt of spouses of certain public servants who died or were totally disabled in the September 2001 terrorist attacks. The debt cancellation also would apply to other 9/11 victims’ loans that are being repaid by their spouses or parents.
Rep. Ric Keller (R-FL) stated, “Some of the most important programs in the Higher Education Act, such as Pell Grants and Perkins student loans, are set to expire on September 30, 2006. Pell Grants and Perkins loans are the passports out of poverty for millions of worthy young people, and they deserve to be reauthorized. H.R. 6138 ensures that these provisions will not expire at the end of this fiscal year by extending them for another nine months, through June 30, 2007. While the House acted on permanent reauthorization of the Higher Education Act by passing H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act, in March of this year, the Senate has not yet acted. The Senate should soon act to pass their reauthorization bill so we can negotiate a final bill and have these important higher education reforms signed into law.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) noted that “every time we extend this crucial legislation, the provisions it contains divert the resources further and further away from where they are most needed. Eighty-six percent of high school graduates from families with incomes over $80,750 go on to college while only 57 percent of graduates from families earning less than $33,000 do so. Pell grants and student loans are supposed to help narrow this gap. And yet, when dollar amounts are scoffed at as expenses rather than investments, it is our next generation of doctors, lawyers, teachers, civil servants, and other professionals who suffer. This will be the fifth time this Congress that we have extended the Higher Education Act. Although I am disappointed that we have not been able to reauthorize this crucial bill, I am pleased that we can manage to keep these programs active for the time being.”
