| To: | COHEAO Members |
| From: | Andrew Stringer, Washington DC Staff |
| Re: | Senate Appropriations Committee Funds Loan Cancellations, No FCC |
July 20, 2006
On July 20, the Senate Appropriations Committee marked-up its FY2007 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations bill. The bill continues the Perkins Loan Program and funds loan cancellations at $65.4 million. Unfortunately, the bill does not fund the Federal Capital Contribution.
The accompanying report language includes the following statement on loan cancellations:
“The Committee recognizes the importance of the Perkins Loan Forgiveness Program for professionals in all eligible fields of study, including social work. The committee request that the Department of Education implement measures to better publicize that this loan forgiveness program is available to individuals in multiple fields identified in the Higher Education Act.”The bill is not expected to be considered on the Senate floor anytime in the near future. The most likely scenario is that it will be debated sometime after the elections in November, although nothing specific has been scheduled.