Hot summer Congressional action!
Well, it's only hot because it's summer, but Congress has taken some recent action in the higher education arena: After years of extension, the Higher Education Act has been reauthorized by Congress. The Higher Ed Watch Blog names its favorite things about the reauthorization legislation and its biggest disappointments. Missing from both assessments: any word on refinancing of previously consolidated loans.
In other news:
-A grad asks how to get his or her loans forgiven, and the Alpha Consumer replies: not very easily, if at all. But we've found a few rays of light in the debt cloud for some folks: Colorado doctors could get some loan help for providing service in rural areas, and grads can get some debt forgiveness by going into public service.
-Still plenty of stories out there about graduating with high debt, from: MLive, CBS5 in San Francisco (reporting that loan consolidation isn't always a good thing), the Chicago Tribune (in context of asking if the government should issue another stimulus check), and Fosters.com.
-The credit crisis marches on. Here's what lenders think about it.
-Sallie Mae's profits have dropped from 966 million this time last year to $266 million this year. Ah, poor Sallie Mae! Forgive us, but $266 million in profits doesn't seem like chump change.
Student loan debt clock: $543 billion.
Comments
What are your thoughts about H.R. 598 Student Loan Interest Deductibilty Act introduced by David Wu. It doesn't seem to get any attention anytime that it is introduced.
Posted by: M | October 12, 2008 10:04 AM
We've always supported Congressman Wu's bill. But it, like the other bills that might give us some relief, seems to be always stuck in committee.
Posted by: Diana
|
November 5, 2008 2:13 PM