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The House Education and Labor Committee passed H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. The legislation passed the Committee along party lines by a vote of 30-17, with two Republicans voting in favor of the bill.
Of particular interest to ASHA members, are provisions that will provide $5 billion in funding for the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (see Section 345 of H.R. 3221). Already passed by the Education and Labor Committee and the House of Representatives, the Green Schools Act would allow states and school districts to take measures designed to reduce or eliminate human exposure to classroom noise and environmental noise pollution.
An issue regarding graduate students loans was also resolved before the committee considered the bill. The original version of H.R. 3221 included a provision that would have eliminated subsidized Stafford loans for graduate and professional students beginning in 2015. With the removal of this provision there will be no change to the availability of subsidized Stafford loans for graduate students.
On a separate but related note, Congressman John Tierney (D-MA) offered, and then withdrew, an amendment that would have provided automatic funding for the authorized, but yet to be funded, student loan forgiveness program that includes school-based speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Representative Tierney agreed to work with Chairman Miller in requesting funding for the program through the regular appropriations process.
For further information about H.R. 3221, please contact Neil Snyder, ASHA's Director of Federal Advocacy, at 800-498-2071, ext. 5614 or nsnyder@asha.org.
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