Washington – The American Association of University Women applauds President Bush for signing the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (H.R. 2669) today, a bill that will increase scholarships and reduce loan costs for undergraduate students.
The bill, which represents the largest investment in higher education since the GI bill, comes at no new cost to taxpayers. It will cut interest rates on subsidized federal loans in half over the next five years, contain college costs, and make student loan payments more manageable for borrowers. The bill will also increase the maximum Pell Grant scholarship by $1,090 over the next five years and will provide loan forgiveness to a number of graduates who choose to become public servants. Most of its provisions go into effect Oct. 1, 2007.
“AAUW actively supported this bill, and we applaud both the president and Congress for taking some critical steps to address increasing college costs and burdensome student debt,” said AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz. “The government has an important role to play in making college more accessible and affordable, as well as a concrete interest in doing so - having an educated population is critical to being competitive in the global economy.”
Over the past decade, debt levels for graduating seniors with student loans have more than doubled, from $9,250 to $19,200, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Loan repayment is an even more significant burden for women college graduates, who earn less on average over the course of their lives than their male counterparts do. According to the 2007 AAUW Educational Foundation report Behind the Pay Gap, one year after college graduation women already earn less than their male counterparts earn - even when they work in the same field. Ten years after graduation, this gap widens.
“AAUW supported the College Cost Reduction and Access Act because it is a positive step for access to higher education in general and for women in particular,” Maatz said. “Students shouldn’t have to mortgage their futures for a college education - or worse, avoid college altogether - because of skyrocketing costs and dwindling aid.”
