[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 27 (Friday, March 11, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               FELP LOAN DEFAULT EXEMPTION EXTENSION BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Johnson of South Dakota). Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Scott] is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill to extend the 
exemption granted to historically black colleges and universities, 
tribally controlled community colleges, and Navajo colleges from the 
Federal Family Education Loan Program default trigger cutoff. This bill 
provides that the exemption granted to these institutions be extended 
from July 1, 1994, to July 1, 1998, so that these institutions, and the 
students they serve, may continue to be eligible to receive Federal 
student loans through the life of the current Higher Education Act 
reauthorization.
  On July 1 of this year, as many as one-third of the historically 
black colleges, and additional numbers of native American colleges may 
be eliminated from the Federal loan program if we do not act to ensure 
that their students may continue to receive education loans. These 
schools were granted an exemption by Congress in 1990 from the default 
trigger because these institutions disproportionately educate students 
of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and because elimination from the 
student loan program would almost certainly result in the closing of 
many of these schools. If some of these institutions are forced to shut 
their doors, thousands of needy students will find their options to 
attain a college degree limited, if not blocked altogether.
  These institutions are not, however, seeking an exemption from the 
responsibility to help students to successfully manage their loans. 
Together with several higher education organizations, these 
institutions are engaging in a collaborative self-help program, 
including financial aid management workshops and individualized default 
management plans, to help reduce default rates among their students.
  These schools, however, cannot carry the entire burden of raising 
generations of students out of poverty.
  Along with other Members of Congress, I am working toward developing 
new, fairer criteria for exclusion from the Federal loan program. Until 
these new criteria may be implemented, however, we must ensure that 
students at these institutions can continue to be eligible for Federal 
student loans. Mr. Speaker, avenues to higher education must remain 
open for students of all backgrounds. I ask that those Members who 
share my concern will support this legislation.

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