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 over eighty-thousand Colorado students pay for college, and doing so at no new cost to taxpayers. The bill, H.R. 2669, College Cost Reduction and Access Act, now goes to the President’s desk for his signature.
Rep. Perlmutter is committed to growing and strengthening Colorado’s middle class. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act combines key elements from House and Senate bills that were passed in July. The legislation, H.R. 2669, which the House passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 292-97, would boost college financial aid by more than $20 billion over the next five years. The bill pays for itself by reducing excessive federal subsidies paid to lenders in the college loan industry by $20.9 billion. It also includes $750 million in federal budget deficit reduction.
“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. 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. I strongly urge the President to sign this legislation that would make college more affordable to millions and strengthen our potential workforce,” stated Perlmutter.
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 and over 83,000 receive Pell Grants. Over the next 5 years the total increase in loan and Pell Grant aid for Colorado is estimated to be over $465 million dollars.
President Franklin Roosevelt signed the GI Bill into law in 1944. The original law enabled 7.8 million veterans of the Second World War to participate in education or job training programs.
