3rd UPDATE:US House Passes Sweeping Student Loan Mkt Overhaul

[bemildred]

Source: WSJ

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Thursday that would effectively end private-lender involvement in the student loan market, establishing the federal government as the sole provider of college loans.

The bill introduces sweeping changes to the U.S. higher education system, and serves as the third central plank of U.S. President Barack Obama's domestic agenda. It aims to make college more accessible and improve graduation rates.

"This bill will end the billions upon billions of dollars in unwarranted subsidies that we hand out to banks and financial institutions, and will use that money to guarantee access to low-cost loans," Obama said in a statement.

Like the continuing efforts at overhauling health care, the changes to the federal government's higher education policies would have a serious impact on the bottom line for private-sector players currently serving the market place.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090917-715193.htm...

[hedgehog]

1. Did I mention lately I have 3 kids in college. State Schools, but still!

[mopinko]

16. woohoo, me too.

got 2 more on their way, too. and the oldest thinks she wants to go to medical school.
i hope that this bill contains some of the repayment provisions that were talked about. cuz we need those, too. iirc, they were talking repayment based on income, and forgiveness for those working for the public good for low pay, 10 years of payments and done. i will be interested to see what comes out.

this is so much more important that it seems, i think. pinching off access to college, letting this become a profit maker, has really hurt out economy.

[Dappleganger]

21. Our first one begins next fall.

The 2nd one the year after. Both will have to begin w/community college because of our financial situation but this news is good to hear.

[Piewhacket]

2. every time i find myself completely disgusted with congress and ready to give up..

they PULL me back in.....

that was such an abusive system I've actually been telling
college students to NOT get student loans unless they
are desperate, which unfortunately they often are.

its time to end the bullshit, i only wish it included some
real hangings.
(even though I'm against the death penalty. go figure)

[msongs]

3. nice to see congress do something against its corporate masters nt

[JerseygirlCT]

4. Excellent! nt

[hunter]

5. Student Loans: Or How I learned Big Corporate America sucks...

... and sucks and sucks the life out of us all.

Our most amusing experience was when a supposed branch of the same bank my wife got her student loan from put a five business day hold on their own flippin' check and we had to get an emergency loan from the school to buy food until it cleared.

Worse stuff than that happened too, much worse. It was a bright day when we paid off those blood sucking ticks. And what value did they add to their "service?" What were we paying them for? To harass us when things were not going well in our lives? Well, thanks a lot!

The Student Loan people and the Health Insurance people taught me life's too short to worry about money.

[aquart]

6. Wish it had happened 20 years ago.

[MisterP]

7. oh, the "competition is good" twits and the neo-LaRouchie Ron Paul counterRevolutionaries are gonna

poop themselves
hey, if student loans can be all government, why not healthcare...
(don't look at this post: if you do you WANT THE PRESIDENT TO FAIL111auuugh. or something like that)

[naaman fletcher]

8. Well the schools are part of the problem...

Name another product where you are not told what the price is until you agree to show them yours and your parents tax returns. What is the price of college? The colleges set a ridiculously high price that almost nobody pays. The real price is "Let's see the tax returns so that we can figure out the max amount that you can pay, and that's the price".

It's outrageous. They should just quote a price like everyone else, and the schools can compete on price like just about every other good and/or service.

[Klukie]

10. I don't recall colleges shifting prices based on tax returns..

maybe I am mistaken but when I entered college as an independent student at seventeen, I paid the same tuition as everyone else..the difference was that I was eligible for grants that other kids couldn't get because their parents income excluded them. The problem is the ridiculously rising costs IMO.

[naaman fletcher]

17. It's the same thing..

Saying that the price is 20K, but "oh you get grants, its only 5K" is no different than saying to someone else "the price is 5K, but since we have looked at your tax returns and know you can pay it, the price is 20K".

Of course one sounds like the Universities are out to do people a favor, and the other sounds like they are greedy. So they say the first one, but it's the same thing.

[Endangered Specie]

9. How will current private debt be treated?

[Ruby the Liberal]

20. I am hoping someone can answer this as well.

I am thinking existing debt will stay private as the private insurers took the risk, but one can hope. I don't even know if consolidation is still an option.

[Klukie]

11. K&R

[WriteDown]

12. So what if the govt sets interest rates at prices that people...

don't like or are unaffordable to most people?

[Odin2005]

13. YAY!!!

[Barack_America]

14. That's fantastic news. On to the Senate.

[watercolors]

15. With 5 grandchildren in college we were watching this closely

right now three are on college grants loans and two 0n scholarships. It is mind blowing how expensive it all is. We try to help every month with a check to all of them to help out, It means a great deal to us that they succeed. We have cut out unessary spending to help.

[supernova]

18. Wow, maybe I'll be able to afford grad school

after all.

One of the reasons I hesitated, was having to think about borrowing money from a private lender at usurious rates.

[mzmolly]

19. "The differences make a difference...."

Paul Wellstone to Ralph Nader. One of my favorite political quotes of all time.

[quiet.american]

22. Excellent!!!! nt