“Two major victories in one week that will improve the lives of our people for generations to come”
President Obama signed legislation yesterday that improves upon the health reform bill passed last week and makes new investments in higher education while reforming the student loan system.
New York Times – Obama Signs Overhaul of Student Loan Program
President Obama signed legislation on Tuesday to expand college access for millions of young Americans by revamping the federal student loan program in what he called “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill.”
Mr. Obama went to a community college where the wife of his vice president teaches to draw attention to the student loan overhaul attached to the final piece of health care legislation that passed last week. In signing the bill, Mr. Obama put the final touches on his health care program but used the occasion to highlight the education provisions.
…Mr. Obama portrayed the overhaul of the student loan program as a triumph over an “army of lobbyists,” singling out Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest student lender, which he said spent $3 million on lobbying to stop the changes. “For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks,” he said. The money, he said, “was spent padding student lenders’ pockets.”
College News – Obama signs student loan reform bill
College students plagued by a lagging job market and the prospect of debt received some good news on Tuesday. According to the New York Times, President Obama traveled to Northern Virginia Community College to sign into law a student loan reform bill. The reason that Northern Virginia Community College visit is a big f***ing deal is not just because of the historic legislation (which, according to the Times, Obama described as “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill."), but because, as you may have inferred by the Biden-esque phrasing, Northern Virginia is where Jill Biden teaches English.
Two decades ago, about 40 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 30 graduated from college. Today, the rate remains the same here while increasing in countries around the world. America, once the global leader in higher education, seems to be stuck in neutral.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama pledged to jump-start the country’s lethargic educational progress and achieve his stated goal of having America boast the world’s highest proportion of college graduates by 2020. Surrounded by students at Northern Virginia Community College, the president took what administration officials describe as a major step in that direction by signing into law the Student Aid and Financial Reconciliation Act.
