Final Version of the Student Loan Reform Bill

From the Chronicle of Higher Ed this morning comes news of the final language of the student loan reform bill

Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration on Thursday outlined their final agreement on legislation to overhaul the government's student-loan system, with the savings providing annual inflation-adjusted increases in the Pell Grant and billions of dollars in additional aid for higher education.

The final agreement also includes $255-million a year to help historically black colleges

The agreement also includes $750-million over five years for College Access Challenge grants, which support states and other governments in efforts to prepare more low-income students to enroll and succeed in college

despite suggestions last week that money for community colleges would be cut altogether, the bill includes $2-billion over four years to help two-year institutions

also includes $1.5-billion over 10 years to finance the Obama administration's proposal to increase assistance to borrowers eligible for income-based repayment of a federally subsidized student loan by limiting their mandatory monthly payments to 10 percent of discretionary income, down from the current 15 percent, and by forgiving their loans entirely after 20 years, instead of the current 25 years

eliminates $9-billion that had been approved in the House version to reduce the interest rate on federally subsidized loans in 2012-13 and subsequent years. That rate is now due to drop to 4.5 percent for the 2010-11 academic year and 3.4 percent the following year, but then rise to 6.8 percent after that

compromise reached Thursday also eliminated a provision in the House version to spend $8-billion on early-childhood-education programs

But here's the kicker:

accompanying agreement on the health-care legislation