United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2005-12-05 monographic deposited born digital 46 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-195 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195 P0b002ee1803932b4 f:d06195 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195 GAO-06-195 Administrative costs Aid for education Cost analysis Financial analysis Future budget projections Loan interest rates Loan repayments Policy evaluation Student loans Subsidies Consolidation Federal Family Education Loan Program William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program Other Written Product A42558 Under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP), the government guarantees and makes consolidation loans to help borrowers manage their student loan debt. By combining loans into one and extending repayment, monthly repayments are reduced. Unlike other student loans, consolidation loans carry a fixed interest rate. Recently, trends in interest rates and consolidation loan volume have increased overall federal costs, leading Congress to consider cost reduction proposals. Under the Federal Credit Reform Act, the government calculates, for budgetary purposes, the net cost, or "subsidy cost," of extending or guaranteeing credit over the life of loans. Agencies generally reestimate, subsidy costs annually to include actual results and adjust future program estimates. GAO was asked to provide information on the budgetary effects of making consolidation loans exclusively through FDLP. We developed information to answer the following questions: (1) What would be the estimated budgetary effect of providing consolidation loans exclusively through FDLP in fiscal year 2006? (2) To what extent and for what reasons might this estimated budgetary effect change as subsidy costs are reestimated in future years? (3) How might FFELP lenders and borrowers be affected if consolidation loans were made exclusively through FDLP? https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195.pdf GAO-06-195 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-195 Other Written Product GAO-06-195; Student Consolidation Loans: Potential Effects of Making Fiscal Year 2006 Consolidation Loans Exclusively through the Direct Loan Program; Administrative costs Aid for education Cost analysis Financial analysis Future budget projections Loan interest rates Loan repayments Policy evaluation Student loans Subsidies Consolidation Federal Family Education Loan Program William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program