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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Today, we talk more about the costs of higher education in the United States. If you missed last week's report, you can find it at ovaspecialenglish.com.
Foreign students who need financial aid, generally have seek it from the school itself, or their own government, or employer. If you followed the news, that you know that President Obama recently signed healthcare legislation. But one of the two bills he signed into law, also made unrelated changes in the federal students loan program. These changes will require new loans to come directly from the department of education. The departement already makes these federal guarantee loans for American citizens and permanent legal residents. But since 1993, it has also payed private lender to provide them. Now, at July 1st, all new loans would go through the direct loan program only.
Officials say the new law will save the government 61 billion dollars over 10 years. The plan is to use more than half perceivings to provide more federal Pell Grants to needy students. A few billion will also go to schools that traditionally service minorities and to help two year community colleges.
David Dayin is a senior vice president of the American Assoication of Community Colleges. And you know every body had higher education benifits from almost all of this bill. New law will reduce the most that borrowers must repay each year from 15 percent of their income to 10 percent. And the longest repayment period will be shortened from 25 years. Any remaining debt will be forgiven after 20 years or 10, if borrowers enter public service.
Supporters in higher education said the financial bill did not go far enough. Republican opponents called it in an unnecessary government take over of private industry. Another criticism was that financial services industry could lose about 30,000 jobs.
The department of education reported last year that about two thirds of graduates from four year college had student loan debt. The average was about 23,000 dollars.
And that's the the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Standberg. You can discuss education and other subjects on our facebook page at VOA Learning English, and you can find transcripts and podcasts at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steven Ember.
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