Many of you know that I’m going off to college soon. That’s why I was heartened by the House passing the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007.

The Act, (HR 2669), represents no new spending, but instead takes all the money that the government used to put into the corrupt student loan industry, and instead puts it into the “single largest increase in college aid since the GI bill in 1944.”

Quoting from speaker.gov,

This legislation will:

Strengthen the Middle Class by Making College More Affordable

* Cutting interest rates in half on subsidized student loans over the next five years.
* Making student loan payments more manageable for borrowers by guaranteeing that borrowers will not have to pay more than 15 percent of their discretionary income in loan repayments, and allowing borrowers to have their loans forgiven after 20 years.
* Increasing federal loan limits to provide borrowers with additional assistance in paying for college and to help them rely less on costlier private loans.
* Containing college costs.

Increase the Purchasing Power of the Pell Grant Scholarship

* Increasing the maximum Pell Grant scholarship by at least $500 over the next five years. When combined with other Pell scholarship increases passed or proposed by Congress this year, the maximum Pell Grant would reach $4,900 by 2008 and $5,200 by 2011, up from $4,050 in 2006, thus restoring the Pell’s purchasing power.
* Expanding eligibility to include and serve more students with financial need.

Ensure a Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom

* Providing upfront tuition assistance to qualified undergraduate students who commit to teaching in public schools in high-poverty communities or high-need subject areas.

Encourage and Reward Public Service

* Providing loan forgiveness for first responders, law enforcement officers, firefighters, nurses, public defenders, prosecutors, early childhood educators, librarians and others.
* Revising policies to allow public servants to have their loans forgiven after 10 years.

Encourage Philanthropic Participation in College Retention and Financing

* Establishing a partnership with federal, state and local government entities and philanthropic organizations through matching challenge grants aimed at increasing the number of first generation and low-income college students.

Make Landmark New Investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Tribally-Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska and Hawaiian Native Institutions, and Predominately Black Institutions

* Guaranteeing $500 million over five years.

All with no cost to the citizen-taxpayer, we punish the corrupt student loan industry and instead do all those great things quoted, like help the poor with college or promote civic engagement.

That means, of course, that Bush is threatening to veto the bill and Kuhl and Reynolds both voted against it. (Slaughter, of course, and Walsh, to his credit, voted for the bill).

Remember, both investing in education and caring for others are progressive values. Propping up SLM corporation, however, seems to be a Republican one.