College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007

COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - February 07, 2008)

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to bring attention to an anomaly in Federal higher education policy that I have been trying to fix. It has been Federal policy for many years to provide incentives to individuals to work in either high-growth professions, high-need areas, or both. These incentives have included a variety of loan forgiveness and loan cancellation programs. In fact, this chamber just created a new program for public sector employees last year.

The Federal Perkins Loan Program is a relatively small student loan program targeted at low-income individuals. It provides these individuals with low fixed-rate student loans. Additionally, the Federal Government is willing to cancel these particular loans for borrowers who work in high-growth professions and/or high-needs settings for at least 5 years.

Unfortunately, when my office examined the Federal Family Education Loan Program and the Direct Loan Program to see if these programs were treating their borrowers in a similar fashion, we found inconsistencies. One such inconsistency is the fact that individuals who borrow Perkins Loans, obtain a degree in speech-language pathology, and work in a Title I school for 5 years can seek to have a portion of their loan cancelled. The net result is an increase in individuals providing necessary services to children who require specialized care. However, both the FFEL and Direct Loan programs do not treat school-based speech-language pathologists like their special education teacher colleagues with whom they work side-by-side with as they provide valuable education services to children with disabilities. The teachers receive the incentive; the speech-language pathologists do not.

Four years after the re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, while we are in the midst of a re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, and while we know how critical the academic performance of children with disabilities affects a school or school district, I think it is unwise and unfair to deprive these children of the opportunity to receive the special education services they need to succeed.

I will work with my colleagues on the House Education and Labor Committee and our counterparts in the Senate to try to resolve this matter. I look forward to discusing this matter with them as we proceed to a conference with the Senate.

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