Credit unions and banks lost a key round in the fight overcontrol of student loans last week when a House committee voted foran Obama administration plan to replace the Federal FamilyEducation Loan Program with direct student lending.
|Approximately 1,000 credit unions offer these loans, but theObama administration contends that replacing them with directlending will save $87 billion over 10 years.
|The House Education and Labor Committee approved the bill 30-17,mostly along party lines. The full House could take up the measureas early as this week.
|CUNA and NAFCU argued that eliminating the program would make itharder for credit union members to navigate the student loan systemand would negatively impact the relationship between credit unionsand their members.
|“Credit unions that specialize in student lending provide ahigh-quality service for their student members and can provide muchneeded and individualized assistance if difficulties arise withregard to loan repayments. The elimination of FFELP will removethis valuable option for students,” CUNA President Dan Mica wrotethe committee.
|“We have concerns that the legislation's move to an all directlending program could create new challenges for credit unionmembers to get the aid that they need to attend schools in theUnited States,” NAFCU President Fred Becker wrote the panel.
–[email protected]
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Critical CUTimes.com information including comprehensive product and service provider listings via the Marketplace Directory, CU Careers, resources from industry leaders, webcasts, and breaking news, analysis and more with our informative Newsletters.
- Exclusive discounts on ALM and CU Times events.
- Access to other award-winning ALM websites including Law.com and GlobeSt.com.
Already have an account? Sign In
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
