On September 4, 2007, President Bush signed the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, designed to make more financial aid available to the poorest families, as well as lowering interest rates for new borrowers. As a bonus, the bill also created an opportunity for students to avoid repayment of loans by teaching in some inner city schools, or by working in public service jobs for ten years, after which time the loan balance will be forgiven.

The Act also reduced interest rates on new subsidized Stafford Loans from 6.8% to 3.4% over four years, and increased the amount of Pell Grants from $4,310 to $5,400 per year over the same period of time.

Though long overdue, it genuinely seemed to be a good piece of legislation that promised financial aid at lower rates and more availability of grant money to students. However, at the bill signing ceremony, President Bush, in what now appears to have been a foreboding understatement, said he didn’t know how all the increased grant money would be funded. Apparently, the problem has been solved – to the benefit of colleges and lenders. So, what else is new?

Mark Twain once said, "No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session." Once again, it seems Mr. Clemens, one of America’s greatest and most beloved writers, was right on target.

Just when you thought it was safe to say something positive about the House Education and Labor Committee, who were responsible for the aforementioned College Cost Reduction Act, comes The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008. Sponsored by Rep. George Miller III (D-CA) along with 32 other House democrat and republican co-sponsors to ensure continued availability of access to the Federal student loan program for students and families, this new legislation not only fails its intended purpose, but actually is quite damaging to the very same students it intended to benefit.

Introduced on the floor of Congress on April 8th, it was passed by the House on April 17th, by the Senate on April 30th, and signed into law by President Bush on May 7th, 2008, the very same day it was received for his consideration. You’d think with all of those learned men and women that our tax dollars severely overpay, just one of them might have taken the time to consult with a college funding expert before rushing to the so-called aid of all of those needy college families.

Following on the heels of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA, a far better piece of legislation), the new law should be re-titled the Ensuring Continued Increases to Student Loans Act! Under the guise of aiding college families overwhelmed and victimized by the student loan crisis, the Act did little else than add fuel to an ongoing fire by ensuring that colleges and lenders would benefit at the expense of students and their families. This perpetuated yet another deception on the academic public in a manner that has become typical of the no child left behind administration.

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