House Passes Need-Based Educational Aid Act of 2007
May 1, 2008
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the Need-Based
Educational Aid Act of 2007 (H.R. 1777) by voice vote. The American Council on
Education (ACE) sent a letter to
every member of the House to outline the higher education
community’s support for the legislation.
H.R. 1777, sponsored by Rep. William Delahunt (D-MA), would
permanently renew a provision of existing law (known as Section 568)
that allows qualifying colleges and universities to establish common
approaches for awarding non-federal, institutional student aid without
violating anti-trust laws.
Section 568 is intended to increase access to higher education by
promoting financial aid policies that support the largest number of
financially needy students. It does not permit discussion or comparison
of institutional awards for individual students. This provision has been
renewed twice before–once in 1997 and again in 2001–and in
both instances, it passed the Judiciary Committee by voice vote and the
full House under suspension.
“Without explicit statutory permission, colleges and
universities would be reluctant to have discussions on these issues,
despite Congress’ earlier affirmation that permitting institutions
to establish and agree upon common financial aid principles and
procedures improves access to higher education,” writes ACE Senior
Vice President Terry Hartle, on behalf of seven higher education
associations, including ACE. “In addition, families of aid
applicants would face widespread confusion, as institutions could no
longer agree upon common principles and standards for assessing
financial need.”
The bill will now move to the Senate for consideration.
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