Thursday, July 12, 2007

Historic Student Aid Bill Includes Rep. Becerra's 'Librarian' Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Included in the historic College Cost Reduction Act (H.R. 2669), which passed in the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 273 to 149, was language to reward librarians who work in underserved communities with student loan forgiveness. The language is modeled after H.R. 1877, the "Librarian Incentive to Boost Recruitment and Retention in Areas of Need (LIBRARIAN) Act, a bill authored by Representative Xavier Becerra (CA-31), Assistant to the Speaker of the House, and an issue that he has championed dating back to the late 1990s.

"The enactment of this historic piece of legislation would go a long way toward revitalizing our nation's public schools and libraries," Rep. Becerra said. "It creates substantial incentives for today's students to become tomorrow's educators in places where they are needed most. The looming librarian shortage is a major concern, especially for impoverished communities that rely on their libraries for access to education, skills training and information. H.R. 2669 addresses this impending crisis."

The student loan forgiveness in H.R. 2669 would expand section 428K of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for librarians working in impoverished areas.

In addition to the provisions to provide librarian loan forgiveness, H.R. 2669 also would boost college financial aid by nearly $20 billion over the next five years with no additional cost to taxpayers, making it the largest investment in college financial aid since the GI Bill. In addition the legislation increases the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship and cutting interest rates in half on need-based loans.