Murray Urges Students, Parents and Workers to Weigh in on HEA Reauthorization – Submit Your Stories About Perkins!

February 20, 2018

Prepared by: Greg Marak (gmarak@bosewashingtonpartners.com)

It was announced last week that Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), is asking students, parents and workers to share personal stories and ideas about what they would like Congress to focus on when reauthorizing the Higher Education Act (HEA).

COHEAO sees this as a perfect opportunity to share your stories about the value of the Perkins Loan Program and the harm to students that losing the Perkins program has and will continue to cause. Please share this information with colleagues, parents and your current and former students. To submit comments, email HigherEducation2018@help.senate.gov.

Senator Murray said of the initiative:

“ I’m interested in hearing from students who are struggling to afford college, people who are being crushed by student loan debt, working learners and first-generation college students who aren’t getting the support they need from their schools, students and parents with stories or ideas on how to keep our campuses safe, and more. Hearing from people directly is critical as we work toward a comprehensive solution that addresses all these issues, and I’m going to fight as hard as I can to make sure their stories, values, and priorities are represented as we work together to get this done.”

• Comments are due this Friday, February 23, 2018.
• The email to send comments to is available here.
• You can also submit information to COHEAO’s 2018 Harm to Students Survey here.