House Democrats advance federal student aid overhaul
WASHINGTON _ The House Education and Labor Committee on Thursday voted 28-22 to approve a massive overhaul of federal student loans and other higher education programs that they touted as an overdue move to address the costs of higher education.
The 1,165-page measure earned no Republican support at the end of a markup that began Tuesday. Among numerous other provisions, it would expand Pell Grants, tweak the Federal Work-Study Program, direct more aid to minority-serving institutions, emphasize campus safety and set several new requirements designed to impose tougher standards on for-profit colleges. It would also use federal aid to encourage states to offer tuition-free community college educations.
The measure represents the increasing importance of addressing student debt as a plank of the Democratic agenda. Throughout the debate on amendments, which concluded Wednesday, Democrats praised the bill as a long-awaited solution to a $1.5 trillion student debt crisis and a necessary crackdown on schools with predatory practices.
Republicans expressed near-uniform opposition to the bill and offered dozens of amendments, most of which were rejected. They argued that the bill would pour money into programs that aren't helping students and hamper institutions with excessive federal regulations.
_CQ Roll Call
