COHEAO Writes House in Support of Perkins Loan Extension Act; Hearing Summary—DeVos Testifies Before Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee

June 7, 2017

Prepared by:  Wes Huffman (whuffman@wpllc.net)

Yesterday, COHEAO wrote all members of the House of Representatives encouraging them to co-sponsor the Perkins Loan Extension Act, H.R. 2482. To date, there are 26 cosponsors.  This is already an encouraging number, but this list needs to grow. A copy of COHEAO’s letter is attached with this Spark.  Please feel free to use this text as the starting point for similar messages to Congress.

In other news, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos appeared before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) spoke strongly in favor of all Campus-Based Programs, and specifically mentioned Perkins Loans. Additionally, multiple Senators from both sides of the aisle criticized the move to drastically cut Federal Work Study.  DeVos defended the cuts, often pointing to “tough choices.” On SEOG she said the program was duplicative of Pell. DeVos did not address the merits of Perkins Loans, only noting that the program is not authorized by September 30 under current law. 

A full summary of the hearing is attached with this COHEAO Spark.