Pell Grant Hurricane and Disaster Relief Act
PELL GRANT HURRICANE AND DISASTER RELIEF ACT -- (House of Representatives - September 07, 2005)
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Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge this body to offer real relief to college students impacted by the disastrous Hurricane Katrina. Well over 10,000 students at over 30 major institutions and others have been directly impacted by this terrible tragedy, with countless more feeling the aftershocks of the disaster.
I support the bill offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) to offer relief to Pell grant recipients affected by natural disasters and thank him for this introduction. But this bill is not enough; as we all realize, not only Pell grant recipients were affected by this tragedy.
Thousands of affected students and graduates will be unable to make payments on their Stafford or Perkins loans. Currently, students in repayment who are suffering from economic hardship can go through a lengthy process to defer the accumulation of interest and repayment on their loans. Also they can apply and receive a temporary forbearance on their loans, allowing them to defer payments, but continue the accumulation of interest. We need to cut the red tape by allowing any student impacted by a natural disaster to receive an automatic deferment of both the accumulation of interest and the payments. Graduates already struggling to dig themselves out of the student loan debt, an average of $17,500, must not be penalized because of this terrible tragedy.
Enrolled students who are currently receiving Federal aid had their financial aid packages calculated based on the Expected Family Contributions, the so-called EFC, which includes parent contributions and contributions of working students. With millions unemployed, including the one in five undergraduates who were working more than 30 hours a week to support themselves, the calculated Expected Family Contribution is no longer realistic.
The Miller-Keller bill allows those students to have their EFC student aid packages readjusted to reflect the financial changes that family may have suffered. Affected families have limited resources to aid their recovery. The little they have needs to go toward rebuilding their homes and lives. But this should not mean that their children should have to drop out of school. We really need an adjustment in the Expected Family Contributions.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the majority leadership has decided to take up the issue of college students impacted by this tragedy and am pleased with the work of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller). Yet comprehensive relief is necessary for all students with financial hardship.
Mr. Speaker, I hope Congress will soon consider a more comprehensive package. An extraordinary catastrophe demands an extraordinary solution. Congress must do more.
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