110-153 ) on S.Con.Res. The FY2008 budget resolution includes reconciliation instructions that direct authorizing committees to report legislation to reduce mandatory spending for the period FY2007-FY2012. These reductions in mandatory spending are sufficiently large that they offset a broad array of new and enhanced student aid benefits. FY2008 Budget Reconciliation Provisions

The savings in mandatory spending required by the FY2008 budget reconciliation instructions for the House Committee on Education and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and enacted in P.L. 110-84 , are achieved through changes to the FFEL program. On June 25, 2007, the House Committee on Education and Labor reported H.R. 2669 , the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 ( H.Rept. 110-210 ). On July 10, 2007, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions reported S. 1762 , the Higher Education Access Act of 2007. Through these measures, each committee reported reconciliation recommendations meeting the requirements of the FY2008 budget resolution. On July 11, 2007, the House passed H.R. The Senate incorporated all of the provisions of S. 1762 into H.R. 2669 and passed it on July 20, 2007. 2669 , H.Rept. On September 27, 2007, the President signed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 into law as P.L. 110-84 . This section of the report begins by reviewing and briefly describing the major proposals contained in each the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of H.R. 2669 to achieve savings in mandatory spending through changes to the federal student loan programs and to enhance student aid benefits and make other changes to existing federal student aid programs and provisions. It then proceeds to review and describe the major changes enacted under P.L. 110-84 that are projected to achieve savings in mandatory spending and those that establish new or enhanced student aid benefits or that otherwise amend pre-existing federal student aid programs. This report is structured to provide a record of proposals designed to achieve savings in mandatory spending or to provide new or enhanced student aid benefits considered during FY2008 budget reconciliation and that have gained passage by one or both chambers, as well as those enacted into law. The provisions for new or enhanced aid to specific institutions of higher education (IHEs), or adjustments to campus-based aid would
establish a competitive grants program through a mandatory appropriation of $15 million per year in FY2008-FY2012, for IHEs that have an annual percentage increase in net tuition that is equal to or less than the percentage change in the higher education price index for that year, with funds to be distributed by the IHE in the form of need-based grant aid to students who are eligible for Pell Grants; and provide bonus rewards to IHEs for guaranteeing the amount of tuition and fees a student will pay for a specific number of years with funds to be distributed by the IHE in the form of need-based grant aid to students who are eligible for Pell Grants; provide a mandatory appropriation of $15 million per year in FY2008-FY2012 to establish cooperative education grant rewards for IHEs that restrain tuition increases and support demonstration projects, training and resource centers, and research related to cooperative education; create Centers of Excellence at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) which are focused on teacher preparation programs; and provide $50 million for the period covering FY2008-FY2012, through a mandatory appropriation; create a new program for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), tribal colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), and Asian and Pacific Islander-serving institutions and provide through mandatory appropriation $100 million per year for FY2008-FY2012; create and support through a mandatory appropriation of $300 million for the period covering FY2008-FY2012, a College Access Challenge Grant Program, which makes funds available to philanthropic organizations to provide need-based grants, mentoring, and outreach programs; provide, through mandatory appropriation, $30 million per year for FY2008-FY2011 to support specified Upward Bound programs that receive a high rating on their grant application; and provide $100 million in mandatory funding for Perkins Loan federal capital contributions each year for FY2008-FY2012. They also generate the $750 million in savings over the 2007-2012 period needed to meet the requirements of the reconciliation directives. The projected net savings is roughly $752 million over the 2007-2012 period and $3.6 billion over the 2007-2017 period.
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 was enacted as P.L. 110-84 on September 27, 2007. P.L. 110-84 makes changes to programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and, in so doing, achieves projected savings of $752 million in mandatory spending over the period covering FY2007 through FY2012 and $3.6 billion over the period covering FY2007 through FY2017.
The FY2008 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 21, H.Rept. 110-153) contains reconciliation instructions that require the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to report reconciliation legislation to reduce mandatory spending by $750 million over the period covering FY2007 through FY2012. As required, these committees reported reconciliation recommendations producing the required savings to their parent chamber prior to September 10, 2007.
Each of the aforementioned authorizing committees marked up a bill in June of 2007 with reconciliation recommendations that generate the required savings in mandatory spending. Each chamber also considered a broad set of Higher Education Act (HEA) amendments in conjunction with the reconciliation proposals. Under each bill, the required savings are achieved through cuts in payments to Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program lenders and guaranty agencies. Both bills generate substantially higher levels of savings in mandatory spending than required by the reconciliation directive, and the additional savings offset costs associated with a broad array of new or enhanced student aid benefits.
On June 25, 2007, the House Committee on Education and Labor reported H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 (H.Rept. 110-210), containing the required reconciliation proposals. On July 11, 2007, the measure was adopted by the House. On July 10, 2007, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions reported S. 1762, the Higher Education Access Act of 2007, containing its reconciliation recommendations. The provisions of S. 1762, were incorporated into the Senate version of H.R. 2669, which the Senate passed on July 20, 2007.
This report reviews and briefly describes the major proposals contained in both the House-passed and Senate-passed versions of H.R. 2669 to achieve savings in mandatory spending through changes to federal student loan programs and to enhance student aid benefits or make other changes to existing federal student aid programs. It also reviews and describes the major changes enacted under P.L. 110-84 that are projected to achieve savings in mandatory spending and those that establish new or enhanced student aid benefits or that otherwise amend pre-existing federal student aid programs. This report is structured to provide a record of proposals to achieve savings in mandatory spending or to provide new or enhanced student aid benefits considered during FY2008 budget reconciliation and that have gained passage by one or both chambers, as well as those enacted into law. This report will not be updated.