*Editor's Note: As of September 30, 2017, the Federal Perkins Loan Program has ended. Unless new legislation is passed, these loans will remain unavailable.
After weeks of uncertainty, the House of Representatives agreed on a deal to save the Federal Perkins Loan Program. Perkins Loans are campus-based awards that provide low-interest loans to students that exhibit the economic need, and subsidizes their interest payments until 9 months after a student graduates or while a student maintains half-time status. Millions of students have benefited from Perkins Loans, and on October 1, 2015, the program is set to expire.
The Federal Perkins Loan Program was established in 1958 as the National Defense Education Act (NDEA). At the time, education was seen as a national security issue, so low-interest loans were developed to be awarded to lower-income families and increase the number of college-educated Americans. In 1986, the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) saw the NDEA changed to the Federal Perkins Loan Program, but maintained its commitment to increasing access to higher education.
As it stands, students who received a Perkins Loan before the current deadline will be eligible for Perkins Loans into 2020. Though the HEEA shortens the window of eligibility, the extension is being used to create time for a comprehensive solution for all financial aid programs with the oncoming re-authorization of the Higher Education Act.
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The Higher Education Extension Act of 2015 (HEEA) was proposed on Thursday, September 24, 2015 by Michigan Republican Representative, Mike Bishop. The HEEA seeks to extend the Perkins Loan Program until October 1, 2016. Though no new Perkins Loans can be awarded after the 2016 deadline, students who receive a Perkins Loan before the deadline will be eligible to continue receiving the loan until March 31, 2018.
"I am pleased that, after considerable effort, we have found a way forward to save the Perkins loan." said Rep. Louise M. Slaughter.
The HEEA will have to pass both Houses of Congress before making it to the President’s desk for signing, which the supporters of the bill hope occurs before Thursday, October 1st, 2015.
