WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAU) — The federal government passed their continuing resolution to keep the government running without a partial shutdown Wednesday, but a very popular program did not get an extension. The Federal Perkins Loan Program expired at Midnight. The Perkins program had been around for 57 years, until Midnight, when it reached it’s sunset date.
This program was a revolving loan pool funded by both government and universities that made fixed rate low interest loans to income-eligible students.
UW System spokesman Alex Hummel says this is a huge disappointment, as the Perkins loans helped a lot of Wisconsin students. “The last number in the 2013-14 academic year was nearly 16,000 in the UW System, and they were able to receive a bit more than twenty million dollars in need- based support, so it’s pretty substantial.”
Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation from both sides of the isle supported the continuation of the Perkins program.
Senator Tammy Baldwin addressed the Senate after the program was killed. She says she hears frustration from Wisconsinites about Congress’ lack of help to make higher education more accessible and affordable. “The fact that we just saw a single Senator stand up and reject a bipartisan and common sense measure to do just that, is frankly, a perfect example about why my constituents and the American people are so upset with Washington.”
Hummel says the university system will do what they can for the affected students. “We’re committed to doing whatever we can in whatever avenues might be out there, still, to try and find some way to continue the program. It’s been incredibly successful, not just for UW System students, but for students around the United States, and I think we’re committed to working with our Congressional delegation to finding any other way we can to continue the program.”
Supporters will try to resurrect the program or create a replacement.
So far, there’s no clear answer on what will happen to the dollars currently in the revolving loan fund.
(Listen to our interview with Alex Hummel on our website, here.)
