Yale joins coalition to keep loans

BY RAYMOND PACIA
Staff Reporter

As Congress prepares for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, Yale is joining its peers in pushing to preserve loan programs and prevent provisions officials believe compromise academic freedoms.This spring, Congress is expected to push for spending cuts in the Higher Education Act in order to compensate for a deficit in the federal budget. Yale officials are fighting to save the Perkins loan program, which provides interest-free loans to students from lower and middle-class families. The program gives the students 10 years to repay the loans, with an opportunity for loan forgiveness if they join the armed service or perform community service.As part of a plan to curb government spending, President Bush's fiscal year 2006 budget would recall the federal money invested in the program. Each year about 1,300 Yale students, mostly graduate and professional students, receive Perkins loans valued at as much as $6,000."We happen to think the Perkins loan program is great," Yale Director of Federal Relations Richard Jacob said.

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