Pennsylvania Senate Addresses National Student Lending Crisis
Resolution Calls for Immediate Federal Action
Harrisburg, PA (April 9, 2008) - The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) announced today that the Pennsylvania Senate has unanimously passed the attached Senate Resolution (SR) 289, urging immediate action from the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and the President of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh to “use all means and authorities available to them to provide needed short- and long-term financial assistance to assure the availability of student loans to Pennsylvania’s students and families.”
SR 289 was authored and introduced by State Senator Sean Logan, who also serves the Commonwealth as Vice-Chairman of the PHEAA Board of Directors.
Eighty percent of today’s college students depend upon the low-cost Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) to help them pay for their schooling. Without access to sufficient student aid, millions of students may be unable to pay for their college education, which in turn will affect the Commonwealth’s economy.
SR 289 notes that while “the focus is first-and-foremost to protect the interests of Pennsylvania families, everyone must understand that this is a national problem that requires a national solution and, without, decisive federal intervention, the resulting financial stress placed on students and families could be disastrous.”