NH ASFAA 2013 ANNUAL CONFERENCE: UPDATE FROM WASHINGTON (NH EDITION)

Scott Merrick

Special Assistant for Policy and Projects United States Senator Jeanne Shaheen

SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN

First woman elected both Governor and US Senator in US history.

Committee Assignments: Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Appropriations, Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Former teacher, small business owner Between her time as Governor and Senator,

served as the Director of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

Senator Shaheen believes that making college affordable for our students is essential to growing our nation’s economy, creating jobs and protecting the middle class.

Over the last thirty years, tuition and fees have increased 167 percent at private four-year colleges and 257 percent at public four-year colleges.

Adjusted for inflation, tuition has increased faster than costs for gasoline, health care, and other consumer items.

PELL GRANTS Senator Shaheen supported education

reforms in 2010 that increased the maximum Pell Grant to $5,550 to help low-income students go to college and made student loan debt more manageable for all by capping repayments at 10 percent of discretionary income. As Governor, she launched a tax-free college tuition savings plan

for New Hampshire, one of the first of its kind in the nation.

STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES

Senator Shaheen fought to keep student loan interest rates on subsidized loans from doubling Increase to 6.8% would have added an average of $1,000 of

debt to 7.2 million students. New Hampshire has the highest average student college debt in

the nation at $31,408 per student. The Granite State ranks second in the nation when it comes to the number of college students with debt: 74 percent.

Senator Shaheen has also supported the Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan. This could help as many as 1.6 million students reduce their monthly payments.

BIPARTISAN STUDENT LOAN CERTAINTY ACT

Fixed interest rate for the life of the loan based on the 10-year Treasury bill plus a percentage add-on.

Undergrad students: Plus 2.05 percent capped at 8.25 percent Grad students: Plus 3.6 percent capped at 9.5 percent PLUS: Plus 4.6 percent capped at 10.5 percent.

Eliminate consolidation “cap” Saves $715 million over ten years (based on current law,

which doubled rates).

BIPARTISAN STUDENT LOAN CERTAINTY ACT

Senator Shaheen voted for the Reed-Warren Amendment. Would have kept student loan interest rates from

going no higher than 6.8% for student loans, 7.9% for plus loans.

BIPARTISAN STUDENT LOAN CERTAINTY ACT

In voting for the Act, Senator Shaheen wanted to keep interest rates low, but was concerned about the out years.

Senator Shaheen believes that Chairman Harkin will address student loan interest rates in the Higher Education Act.

LOOKING FORWARD: HIGHER EDUCATION ACT

The HEA was originally signed into law in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society agenda.

The law is intended to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and to provide financial assistance to students in postsecondary and higher education.

It has been reauthorized nine times, with the most recent reauthorization occurring in 2008

HEA CONTINUED

Chairman Harkin has mentioned that this is his last term in Congress, and is making it a priority to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.

Tentative plan moving forward: Chairman Harkin will hold fact-finding hearings over the next several months and hopes to have a draft reauthorization bill by early 2014.

What do you think should be included in the HEA reauthorization bill? Senator Shaheen wants to hear from you, the experts, on policies that you think are working, and policies that aren’t.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

MY CONTACT INFORMATION

Scott MerrickSpecial Assistant for Policy and ProjectsUS Senator Jeanne Shaheen1589 Elm Street, Suite 3Manchester NH, 03101603-647-7500scott_merrick@shaheen.senate.gov

Thank you!