New government initiatives

Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have posted. January is a busy month in the world of financial aid and this month is especially so. With the President's State of the Union address last evening, we can see that student loan reform is still high on his agenda. President Obama would like all federal education loan programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education and taken out of the hands of private lenders. In fact, President Obama says the following:
"To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans.

Instead, let’s take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants. And let’s tell another one million students that when they graduate, they will be required to pay only ten percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after twenty years – and forgiven after ten years if they choose a career in public service. Because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college. And it’s time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs – because they too have a responsibility to help solve this problem"-President Obama

The House Bill, No. 3221 supports the above measures, but the Senate has yet to support the bill or come up with changes or revisions that will ultimately go to the President for signature.

States are fighting their own budget woes and New York State is one of those states. Governor Paterson has millions of dollars of proposed budget cuts specifically aimed at higher education. The TAP grant is currently under scrutiny from many directions and only time will tell if the college students in New York State will feel the economic pinch when they go to pay their tuition and fees!!!