Timothy Roemer: “as we moved into hearings on this very important bipartisan higher education bill, what we heard both in Washington…”

“as we moved into hearings on this very important bipartisan higher education bill, what we heard both in Washington, D.C., and in field hearings in Indiana and across the country was the resounding call for more flexibility, not more mandates upon our institutions of higher education, and trying to do things to reduce the cost and the debt to students as they come out of college. This amendment, the loan flexibility amendment, achieves both of those objectives. It tries to provide more flexibility to our schools and to our students. It also enhances the ability to combine the loan programs and give the students a reduced rate. This amendment would retain the aggregate loan limits while giving students greater borrowing flexibility under the Federal student loan programs. In the subsidized loan program, student lending has both aggregate and annual loan limits. The annual loan limit forces many students into the more expensive private loan market. This amendment would apply only to unsubsidized loans for students at 4 year degree granting institutions and would not change the total amount students may borrow in the Federal programs under current law. Therefore, students will not be incurring additional debt.”