Today, Rep. Perlmutter voted today to approve legislation that would make the single largest investment in college financial aid since the 1944 GI Bill. This legislation will assist nearly 50,000 Colorado students pay for college, and doing so at no new cost to taxpayers.
Rep. Perlmutter is committed to growing and strengthening Colorado ’s middle class. The College Cost Reduction Act will boost college financial aid by about $18 billion over the next five years. In Colorado alone, the total increase in loan and Pell aid to students and families will increase over $270 million. When combined with other Pell scholarship increases passed or proposed by Congress this year, the maximum Pell Grant would reach $4,900 in 2008 and over $5,000 in 2011, up from $4,050 in 2006.
The College Cost Reduction Act will cut interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in equal steps over the next five years. In Colorado , the typical need-based student loan borrower at a 4 year public school accumulates over $13,000 in debt. With the interest rate cuts the savings per student over the life of the loan would be $4,310. Over 45,000 students take out need-based loans each year in Colorado .
“As the proud father of a daughter attending a public Colorado university I know about the rising costs of a college education. This bill will help students in Colorado and all over the country go to college and have less debt once they join the workforce. As a member of Congress I will continue to fight to reduce college loan interest rates and make college more accessible for everyone. We must shift the focus from the wealthiest 1% to the hard working people in the middle, and this legislation is a step in that direction,” stated Perlmutter.
Additionally, this legislation is fiscally responsible. It pays for itself by reducing excessive federal subsidies paid to lenders in the college loan industry, and it includes $750 million in federal budget deficit reduction.
