Titus Applauds Passage Of Largest Investment In Student Aid In History

Press Release

Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada's Third District hailed the passage of landmark student financial aid legislation which was approved by the House of Representatives last night.

"Nevada has been particularly hard hit by the economic downturn as we face near-record unemployment. The investments in this bill will help Nevada's students and dislocated workers obtain the education and training they need to compete in the workforce, and it will do so in a fiscally responsible way," Congresswoman Titus said. "With college costs rising, this landmark legislation will increase funding for Pell Grants and build a world-class community college system that will provide Nevada's young people with a better education and less debt. By passing this bill, we are putting the needs of Nevada's students ahead of the banks that for too long have been rewarded with billions of dollars in subsides at the expense of taxpayers."

The student aid provisions in the package transform the way the student loan program operates by converting all new federal student lending to the effective and cost-efficient Direct Loan program. Instead of providing lenders with taxpayer subsides, students will receive loans directly from the government, saving $61 billion.

The legislation makes federal student loans more manageable to repay by strengthening the Income-Based Repayment program, allowing borrowers to cap their monthly federal student loan payments at 10 percent of their discretionary income. The legislation also invests $36 billion to boost Pell Grant scholarships, makes student loans easier to repay, and strengthens community colleges by investing $2 billion to develop and improve educational or career training programs. Under the bill, Nevada will receive more than $118 million for Pell Grants and $7.5 million for College Access Challenge Grants.

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