SENATE PANEL IGNORES ED PLAN IN APPROVING REAUTHORIZATION BILL

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

A Senate committee approved the Higher Education Act reauthorization measure without adopting last-minute proposals from the Reagan administration that would have significantly changed federal student aid. The panel’s approved approach kept most elements aligned with a prior Senate Education subcommittee draft while setting federal funding levels for higher education programs in fiscal 1987. Key funding includes Pell Grants and guaranteed student loan support, alongside specific changes such as eligibility, consolidation, and oversight provisions described in committee amendments.

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Senate panel ignores ED plan in approving reauthorization bill

Vol.14,No。54 # SENATE PANEL IGNORES ED PLAN IN APPROVING REAUTHORIZATION BILL —HEA——— Reauthorization ’86 Thursday,March 20,1986 The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee yesterday unanimously approveds.1965,a bill that would reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965.Indoing so,the panel ignored 11th-hour proposals from the Reagan administrationthat would have dramatically altered federal student aid programs. "I don't agree with"the administration's plan,committee Chairman Orrin Hatch,R-Utah,told reporters after the bi1l's passage,adding that the administra-tion's proposals were submitted"too late”and were "too draconian." "Frankly,there is only so much blood you can take out of these folks,"Hatchsaid,referring to the education community. The administration's package,parts of which theEducation Department delivered to committeestaff the day before the mark-up,would havemolded the National Direct Student Loan(NDSL) program into an income-contingent loan program and would have decreased fundingfor the Guaranteed Student Loan(GSL)program(HED,Feb。6)· Amendments based on the administration's ideas could stil1 be offered on theSenate floor.Hatch said he hoped to have the bill on the floor"in the nexttwo months." Little AlterationThe committee's version of S.1965 differs little fromthe draft approved by the Senate Education,Arts and Humanities Subcommitteelast year(HED,Dec.13,1985)。Several new initiatives approved in subcommit-tee--such as provisions that would increase the maximum Peli Grant by $200,to $2,400,increase the GSL loan limits and require a “C”average for studentaid--remained in the committee's bil1. Although several amendments were approved,the committee did not authorize theappropriation of additional funding beyond that approved in subcommittee. In sum,S.1965 would authorize up to $9.7 billion for higher education pro-grams in fiscal 1987,according to committee documents,compared to their cur-rent authorization of $11.7 billion and their fiscal 1986 appropriations of $8.6 billion.The House-passed reauthorization package would authorize up to$10.6 billion for the programs. Most of the authorization,$9.38 billion,would be set aside for student aidprograms:$4.45 billion for the Pell Grant program,$3.37 billion for GSL,$622 million for the College Work-Study program,$433 million for the Supple-(more) 6 March 20,1986 # SENATE PANEL IGNORES ED,APPROVES REAUTHORIZATION BILL(Cont.) mental Educational Opportunity Grant program,$228 million for the NDSL pro-gram and $76 million for the State Student Incentive Grant program. Subcommittee Chairman Robert Stafford,R-Vt.,said additional funding shouldnot be authorized"in order to protect the higher funding for student aid."Headded that he had received five requests for new categorical programs from Ver-mont institutions alone. Among the amendments approved yesterday: ■ A provision,offered by Stafford that would reduce the insurance paid by thefederal government to state guarantee agencies with default rates above 5 per-cent.Those with default rates between 5 percent and 9 percent would receivean 80 percent reimbursement on their default portfolio,compared to the currentlevel of 90 percent.Those with rates of 9 percent and above would receive a70 percent reimbursement,compared to the current level of 80 percent. ■ A provision,also offered by Stafford,that would allow loan consolidationfor students whose total debts exceed $5,000. ■ A provision,offered by Hatch,that would reauthorize ED's Office of Educa-tional Research and Improvement,reflecting its reorganization and ensuringfunding for educational laboratories.The office was formed from the NationalInstitute of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics. ■A provision,offered by Sen.Dan Quayle,R-Ind.,that would make proprietary institutions eligible for work-study funds. ■ A provision,offered by Sen.Christopher Dodd,D-Conn.,that would allowNDSL loa

FAQs

What did the Senate committee do regarding the reauthorization bill?

The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee unanimously approved a bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Why did the committee reject the administration’s last-minute proposals?

Committee leadership said the proposals were submitted too late and were too draconian, and the committee ignored them in approving reauthorization.

What kinds of changes did the committee’s bill include for student aid programs?

The approved version kept most initiatives from the earlier subcommittee draft and included amendments affecting areas like grant amounts, loan limits, eligibility, and certain loan cancellation and counseling provisions.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk