The Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee addressed concerns regarding the Federal Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act at their Tuesday meeting.
Under the act, all federal student loans over to the Direct Loan Program. The bill is slated to come before the U.S. House of Representatives Friday, when committee members said they believe it is likely to pass.
After meeting with Susan Fischer, director of financial aid at the University of Wisconsin, the committee decided they cannot support the bill without any changes, according to committee member Colin Ingram.
He added there are two major parts of SAFRA the committee feels strongly opposed to, the first being the removal of subsidized federal loans.
“While students are in school and up to nine months after graduation, interests are paid by the government. After those nine months, the interest remains fixed at 5 percent,” Ingram said.
The bill proposes that students will need to start paying for their loan, including interest, while in school.
“Students who are paying interest every year while in school will add about 20 to 40 percent of their total debt after graduation,” LAC Chair Adam Johnson said. “It doesn’t seem for a majority of students that it will be a benefit. With the changes, a student will be required to take out a full unsubsidized loan before anything else.”
The second major part of SAFRA LAC opposes is the cancellation of a provision that allows loan forgiveness for graduates who join a teaching or nursing career, Ingram said.
LAC plans to take action before the bill comes to a vote in the House by drafting letters to Wisconsin Representatives — a general letter to all congressmen and a specific letter to an education committee in the Senate.
Before sending out formal letters, LAC will gain approval from the Coordinating Council, whose decision stands as law until the ASM Student Council can officially approve it.
These letters will be sent sometime next week, and they ask representatives to either propose two amendments to the bill or vote against it. Letters addressed to legislators and members of the Senate Education Committee will focus on how this bill will affect UW students and give more specific information.
“At this point, this is the best thing our student government can do. Since this is a federal issue, we realistically are hoping to reach some state representatives and have our opinions seriously considered,” Johnson said.
Johnson added SAFRA is a massive overhaul of federal loans that seeks to eliminate third party lenders, as well as cut major loan programs.
“It completely guts the Perkins Loan program, which helps the majority of students who need the most aid,” Johnson said.
Apart from SAFRA, LAC is also looking for student input on the remodeling of Mifflin and Regent streets, which was first proposed at a neighborhood meeting in the middle last week.
They announced that in mid-October, they plan to hold a town hall meeting where students can voice their opinions on the remodeling proposal.
“We want to understand students’ opinions regarding Mifflin before we make any decisions,” Johnson said.
