|
The House of Representatives passed legislation September 27, 2005 to give additional federal support to colleges and universities in the Gulf Coast region that were impacted by the two recent hurricanes. The bill also covers those institutions around the country that have been assisting with displaced students from the devastated area, which now stretches from Alabama to Texas.
The Natural Disaster Student Aid Fairness Act (H.R. 3863) was introduced by Louisiana legislator Bobby Jindal (R-LA) and was approved unanimously by voice vote. It gives the Department of Education an additional year to reallocate the excess funding it receives every year from overpayments made to some institutions participating in three campus-based federal programs: Federal Work Study, Perkins Loans, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. The department would be granted the discretion to send those excess funds to institutions damaged in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and to those colleges hosting students from institutions that were forced to temporarily close. In addition, the legislation gives the Secretary of Education the authority to waive "matching requirements" for funding for these institutions.
"The Natural Disaster Student Aid Fairness Act protects financial aid opportunities for students and schools affected by the recent hurricanes by providing needed flexibility for the campus based aid programs," said Education and the Workforce Committee Chair John Boehner (R-OH) upon the bill's approval. "I applaud Representative Jindal for his ongoing efforts to provide higher education assistance to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita." The Senate is expected to consider the legislation in the near future. For further information, please contact Neil Snyder, ASHA's Director of Federal Advocacy, via e-mail nsnyder@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4257.
|