Shays Expresses Concerns about the Availability of Student Loans in the Federal Family Education Loan Program
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Christopher Shays (CT-4) wrote today to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings expressing his concern about the availability of student loans in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Shays called on Secretaries Paulson and Spellings to use their authority to ensure uninterrupted access to higher education and guarantee students are not denied access to higher education.
“While I believe markets will improve over time, until confidence is restored in the financial markets, we need to make sure student loans remain available,” stated Shays. “As investors lose confidence in even highly rated securities, it has become difficult to fund student loans that meet the demand of our nation’s graduates and undergraduates.”
“I believe federal financial institutions should be using their authority to ensure the availability of various financing mechanisms in order to bring stability to the market,” Shays continued.
On February 7, Shays offered an amendment to H.R. 4137, the College Access Opportunity Act, to encourage federal financial entities to utilize their authority to ensure liquidity in the FFELP market. Unfortunately, his amendment was not made in order and the House did not have the opportunity to address this issue during floor debate of H.R. 4137.
