[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1555-E1556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              INTRODUCING THE ACCESS TO STUDENT LOANS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Access to 
Students Loans Act.
  This legislation permanently extends the McKeon-Kildee student loan 
fix.
  The overall goal is to see that students are able to obtain student 
loans whether they attend Stanford or a career college in the inner 
city of Los Angeles. In order to achieve this goal, a stable and strong 
FFELP program is key to making sure these students are able to obtain 
loans each year without having to worry about whether one will be 
available.
  During the 1998 Higher Education Act reauthorization, Representative 
Dale Kildee and I Hammered out the current interest rate fix after 
numerous meetings and plenty of negotiations. The end result was the 
lowest interest rate for borrowers in the history of the program, with 
current rates in repayment at 5.99 percent.
  These loans, however, are only as good as their availability. Banks 
won't make loans unless they are making a profit. Therefore only those 
students attending universities with low default rates will get served. 
Fixing this interest rate problem will be a direct benefit to those 
students who are usually underserved, and the most at risk of dropping 
out of college. This is why I want to see this problem fixed now.
  Additionally, if we are able to solve this problem now we have a much 
better chance, with the necessary resources, to work on other 
challenges facing higher education in the 2003 reauthorization. 
Specifically, increasing funding for Pell grants and campus-based aid 
would be at the top of my priority list.
  Included in the budget resolution under the leadership of Budget 
Committee Chairman Jim Nussle is a technical reserve fund specifically 
set up to make the current student loan interest rate formulas 
permanent. However, we

[[Page E1556]]

must take action to make the fix permanent before the current budget 
resolution expires.
  I hope my colleagues will support me in this endeavor and cosponsor 
this important legislation which will ensure access to loans for all of 
America's students.

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