Reps. Slaughter, Pocan Urge Congress to Save Perkins Loan Program

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representatives Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Mark Pocan (D-WI) stood with education advocacy organizations and students to urge Congress to reauthorize the Federal Perkins Loan program before it expires on September 30. The Federal Perkins Loan is a need-based loan, which fosters access to higher education for low-income students by providing low interest loans to students in need.

"Last week, I stood with the college and university presidents in my district representing over 6,000 students who receive Perkins funds to call for immediate action to save the Perkins Loan Program," said Rep. Slaughter. "Perkins Loans are special and a good investment all around: they are available to low-income students, have a low, capped interest rate, and are administered by the colleges and paid back to that college, creating a revolving system. Students should be studying for their next exam, not worrying whether they can afford their next semester. The loss of Perkins Loans would be an unrecoverable blow to the 500,000 students across the country who rely on them."

"A college education open doors to greater job opportunities and financial stability. At a time where higher education costs are skyrocketing, Congress needs to do everything it can to ensure that students are able to attend college without being weighed down with mountains of debt," said Rep. Pocan. "The Perkins Loan Program is a vital tool to help make college accessible and affordable for all students. Perkins Loans have helped students struggling to find a way to pay for college in Wisconsin. I urge my Congressional Colleagues to reauthorize this program and ensure students have the ability to attend college without being held back by debt."

Nationwide, over 500,000 students are awarded Perkins Loans every year. These student borrowers are predominantly from lower income families and are often the first in their family to attend college. 67% of Perkins borrowers are dependent students, in which 34% of them come from families with household incomes of less than $30,000. New York alone has close to 50,000 students who count on Perkins loans in order to afford college, the highest number of any state. If the Perkins Loan is eliminated, students across the country will not be able to access much-needed financial aid.

Last week, Slaughter stood with Rochester university presidents, students, and education leaders to call on Congress to save the Perkins Loan Program. She also led a bipartisan effort, joined by 94 of her colleagues, to push the leaders of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to reauthorize the Perkins Loan Program before it expires on September 30.

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