For the hundreds of thousands of college students who take out student loans and sink themselves into thousands of dollars worth of debt, relief is on the way.
Both the U.S. Senate and House voted to pass the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which will provide the largest investment in higher education since the 1944 G.I. Bill.
The bill passed with bipartisan approval in both the House and Senate. Officials for the Bush Administration announced Thursday that President Bush would sign the bill into law.
Today is truly a historic day for students, families and the future of our country,"" said U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Cali., chairman of the Education and Labor Committee and an author of the bill, in a statement Friday.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act will lower the interest rates of need-based federal student loans, decreasing interest rates by half the current rate, according to a Congressional release.
Pell Grant recipients will see a large increase in their maximum scholarship amount within the next year and an increase of over a thousand dollars in the next five years.
Students seeking careers in the public school system or as public servants will also be assisted. Future public school teachers who commit to teaching sought-after subjects for schools in need will receive tuition assistance up-front of up to $4,000 a year.
Those who work for 10 years as public servants will receive loan forgiveness, according to the bill. The loan repayment and forgiveness program will apply to those in the military, law enforcement officers, firefighters, nurses, librarians and others.
U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Wis., supported the bill and what it will do for Wisconsin students.
""Nothing is more important than education and families in Wisconsin will save money thanks to this bipartisan bill,"" Kagen said in a statement Friday.
The bill will greatly benefit all UW-Madison students who currently have student loans as well as those receiving Pell Grant scholarships, Kagen said. The 68,000 Wisconsin students who receive Pell grants will gain increased funding from the bill according to Kagen.
Kagen said of the 76,000 students in Wisconsin that take out loans, all of them stand to save more than $4,000.
Student leaders from groups advocating higher education reform on campus strongly supported the bill.
""The College Cost Reduction and Access Act is the most meaningful higher education reform in more than 15 years,"" said Jeff Rolling, UW-Madison student and chair of Wisconsin Students Public Interest Research Group.
