U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, is working against small, but unyielding opposition in hopes to reauthorize a federal student loan program, which is used by thousands of students across the country.
According to Baldwin, the Perkins Loan Program’s sunset date was Sept. 30, expiring a program that supported 30 million students with more than $36 billion in aid since 1958.
After receiving a one-year extension from the House of Representatives, Baldwin attempted to gain a unanimous consent vote from the Senate in order to gain reauthorization. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, objected to the proposal and effectively blocked the renewal of the program before its expiration.
“I was very disappointed with what happened two weeks ago when Sen. Alexander objected to moving forward,” Baldwin said. “I am not giving up this fight and I know that my bipartisan group of colleagues are not giving up on this fight.”
Baldwin said Alexander wants to include debate on Perkins in the upcoming Higher Education Act negotiations, which was reauthorized most recently in 2008. She said while there is more time to debate the provisions of the Higher Education Act, the Federal Perkins Loan Program is gone today and that it is unacceptable.
Alexander wrote a letter to constituents defending his opposition in continuing the Perkins Loan Program. In the letter, he said it would cost $5 billion over the next decade alone, as well as citing many factors regarding its inferiority.
“Perkins loans have a higher interest rate than other undergraduate loans and do not let students participate in Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-based repayment programs,” he noted in the letter.
Baldwin said Perkins loans are institution-based and as a result, are relatively rare in the student aid landscape. By being institution-based, Baldwin said universities and colleges can shape the program in order to meet the needs of individual students in ways that other loans cannot.
She also said the loans provided by the program are revolving, which means that when the money is paid back to the institution, it goes directly toward funding other student loans.
“I remain hopeful in the long run, because I know that Senator Alexander, as well as many, many, many of my colleagues are hearing from educators across campuses and students across the U.S. about the importance of this program,” Baldwin said.
According to a statement released by Baldwin, Alexander blocked another attempt to garner unanimous consent in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
The statement also said Baldwin, along with Wisconsin Congress colleagues U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, received a letter from University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross urging them to reinstate the Perkins Program.
