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The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007 by an overwhelming vote of 354-58. This bill would reauthorize and amend the programs under the Higher Education Act (HEA). The House legislation includes new loan forgiveness provisions and accreditation protections sought by ASHA for over the last two years.
The U.S. Senate has already considered and passed its HEA reauthorization bill, S. 1642, last July. Current federal higher education law is set to expire on March 31, 2008. ASHA members can expect a vigorous attempt to conference H.R. 4137 and S. 1642, sending a final bill to President Bush before the end of March.
Most notably, H.R. 4137 identifies school-based audiologists and speech-language pathologists as areas of "national need" and establishes a program of loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 for five years of service. Because of persistent high demand of SLPs in schools, ASHA persuaded the House Education and Labor Committee members to include school-based, qualified SLPs with reference to communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs in the base bill last year. Later in the process, ASHA urged adding audiologists in a parallel construction of the provision, convincing congressional leaders about the need for school-based, pediatric audiologists to support early hearing detection & intervention (EHDI) programs.
Thank you to the thousands of ASHA members who have been diligently advocating for loan forgiveness for CSD graduates over the last two years!
While House bill is an important step, we face an uphill battle in conference since there are no similar provisions in the Senate bill. It should also be noted that even if passed in this authorization bill, these provisions will require funding through annual appropriations bills to take affect.
The legislation also prohibits the U.S. Department of Education from promulgating new regulations on accrediting bodies which was of concern to ASHA and the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA).
The bill further strengthens provisions previously approved by the House to avoid conflicts of interest in the student loan programs. The bill's new provisions include requiring better consumer disclosures and protections on private student loans.
H.R. 4137 also specifically identifies school-based speech-language pathologists as being eligible for Perkins Loan forgiveness, something only identified in regulation.
In addition, H.R.4137 would:
- Streamline the federal student financial aid application process;
- Make textbook costs more manageable for students by, among other things, helping them plan for textbook expenses in advance of each semester;
- Allow students to receive year-round Pell Grant scholarships;
- Increase college aid and support programs for veterans and military families; and
- Ensure equal college opportunities and fair learning environments for students with disabilities.
Obstacles to completing the bill remain. In a statement concerning the passage of H.R. 4137, the Bush Administration said that it "strongly opposed passage" of the bill. However, the Administration's position fell short of a direct veto threat and expressed a desire to work with the Congress, "to resolve these objections through the legislative process and to produce a reauthorized HEA that is limited in size, cost-effective, targeted, streamlined, and improves accountability."
ASHA staff will continue to push inclusion of loan forgiveness provisions for CSD program graduates in the conference between the House and the Senate. Watch for grassroots campaigns to help support our loan forgiveness advocacy efforts in the coming weeks. For further information, please contact Neil Snyder, ASHA's Director of Federal Advocacy, at nsnyder@asha.org or 202-624-7750.
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