(January 2010) Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) informed the Washington Post he intends to move the Senate version of SAFRA "early this year" and Deputy Undersecretary Robert Shireman told the Post he was "confident that we'll see movement on this bill." Unfortunately, in another article, the Post reports that Democrats are in a state of "disarray" regarding their 2010 agenda, particularly as it pertains to health care, so the qualified statements of Shireman and Harkin are the closest thing to a definitive word on the timing of Senate SAFRA consideration coming out of Washington right now.

For now, the student loan legislation remains tied to health care and there are several indications that Congress will "take a break" from that issue for at least the next month, if not much longer. Several moderate Democrats in the Senate have spoken out against the use of reconciliation for health care reform, however, and once Leadership has determined the procedural tactic will not be used for health care legislation, the path is cleared for the Senate student loan bill.

When Leadership will make that determination is anyone's guess. The President urged Congress to produce a jobs bill as its first order of business and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told the New York Times the White House intends to push for a jobs bill, additional taxes on financial institutions, and a financial regulatory overhaul before turning back to health care.

However, the fact that the President specifically urged the Senate to pass the SAFRA legislation in his State of the Union address indicates passing the legislation remains a top priority.

The Senate's delays over SAFRA all but guarantee the Perkins changes will not take effect until the 2011-2012 academic year. Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) said the delay was "likely" at two higher education meetings this week, including the COHEAO Annual Conference (see related article), and the Education Department has asked Congress to delay their implementation. Perkins Loans will operate in the traditional fashion for the 2010-2011, and COHEAO is encouraging all current Perkins schools to proceed accordingly and to make sure their colleagues are aware of the situation.

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