Commission proposes $14,000 in aid for all students

There may be some hope of relief around the corner for students in need of financial aid. The National Commission on Responsibilities for Financing Postsecondary Education proposed making $14,000 per year in loans and grants available to all college students, in a report released last week. Commission Executive Director Jamie Merisotis said last week that low income students would be eligible for up to $14,000 primarily in subsidized grants, with some loans. Merisotis added that middle and higher income students would also be eligible for the money but in the form of more loans and less grants. According to Merisotis, students at higher income levels will receive unsubsidized loans. These loans, however, are federally guaranteed -- which means that if students default on their educational loans, the taxpayers pick up the tab. A spokesperson for the Department of Education declined to comment on the study, but the Associated Press reported that Secretary of Education Richard Riley is "delighted" that the commission's proposals are similar to those of President Clinton. Merisotis also said that the commission recommended two methods of loan repayment. Clinton advocated both plans during the campaign, and outlined them when he spoke at the University Science Center last March. The first method, the community service incentive program, would allow students who perform in approved community service programs to have 20 percent of their college debt forgiven per year. Merisotis said that the type of community service that would be required had not yet been determined. The other repayment plan advocated by the commission would be based on income, where students would pay back loans with a monthly percentage depending on their income. One reason for the second plan, Mersotis said, is so graduates "could go into public service and low-income jobs, and not have it affect the choices you make as someone coming out of school." The report has been criticized for its high cost. In a statement, Representative Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.), a major supporter of the proposal, estimated the cost as $9.2 billion in the first year of the program, if adopted. According to the spokesperson at the Department of Education, who refused to discuss any details, there will be no legislation on this issue from the Clinton administration at least until March. The University's financial aid director, William Shilling, declined to comment on the implications of the proposal for University students.