Sununu Fights to Keep College Student Loans Accessible in Wake of Subprime Mortgage Crisis

Press Release

SUNUNU FIGHTS TO KEEP COLLEGE STUDENT LOANS ACCESSIBLE IN WAKE OF SUBPRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS

United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) joined Senate colleagues on Wednesday (3/12) in urging the United States Treasury and Education Secretaries to use all their available authority to protect college loan funding under the Federal Family Education Loan Program in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis.

"Severe problems in the credit market have hit every sector of our economy, including higher education. We must all work together now to protect the availability of college tuition loan funding, particularly the Federal Family Education Loan Program. Students and their families are doing what they can to meet the cost of expensive college tuition bills, and the millions who rely on this program deserve to know it will be there for them," said Sununu.

On Wednesday, March 12, Sununu joined 19 Democrat and Republican colleagues in signing a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Other Senators on the letter are: Benjamin Nelson (D-FL), Richard Burr (R-NC), Jeff Bingaman (D - NM), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Tim Johnson (R-SD), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jon Tester ( D-MT), Johnny Isakson (R- GA), Max Baucus (D-MT), John Thune (R-SD), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

The full text of the letter reads:

"Over the past several weeks, it has become clear we are entering a period of urgency regarding access to student loans. American families have begun to feel the crunch of the higher education funding crisis, which began with the subprime mortgage setbacks and subsequent capital market difficulties. The Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), which initiates 80 percent of our nation's student loans, relies heavily on this market; and the severe liquidity problems therein have created a credit vacuum directly impacting students in our respective states.

"The U.S. Department of Education projects that nearly $60 billion in new FFELP loans will be needed for 6.7 million borrowers this academic year. American families rely heavily on this financing; and we urge you to use the authority of your departments to provide a solution which will ensure access to student loans and help keep the cost of education finance as low as possible, in a manner least disruptive to our students and schools. We remain hopeful you will make full and immediate use of your existing authorities to help steer us away from the impending crisis.

"We stand prepared to assist in any capacity necessary and look forward to hearing what action you plan on taking to assure middle-class families that access to student loans will not be an obstacle to their children's educational aspirations."

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