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Senate Omnibus Spending Bill Stalls

Ed Dept. Announces Finalists for ECASLA Servicer Contract

Higher Ed Watch Wins National Education Reporting Award

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Senate Omnibus Spending Bill Stalls

Progress on a that would finance federal government operations for the rest of the current fiscal year stalled on Thursday in part because of growing concerns over thousands of Congressional earmarks included in the legislation, many of which would go to colleges. The legislation is to cover appropriations for the 2009 federal fiscal year, which began back in October. All told, the bill includes $66.5 billion for the Department of Education, $5.3 billion more than last year’s appropriation. Included in that figure is $134 million in earmarks () for higher education under the (FIPSE)–$14 million more than last year’s bill. The measure includes a $3.1 billion increase in spending on Pell Grants over the 2008 fiscal year, as well as an additional $30 million for the federal GEAR UP and TRIO programs, which help prepare low-income middle-school and high-school students for college. (Our sister blog Ed Money Watch has more on the omnibus bill .) Senate leaders are expected to try and bring the bill up for a final vote again next week.

Ed Dept. Announces Finalists for ECASLA Servicer Contract

The U.S. Department of Education six finalists for the contract to service loans sold to the government under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act (click for a description of the programs). Those making the cut include the current direct loan servicer (ACS Education Solutions), three for-profit loan companies (Sallie Mae, Nelnet and Wells Fargo), and two nonprofit lenders/guaranty agencies (the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and Great Lakes Educational Loan Services). The Department has not said when or how many servicing winners it will choose, but the contract could be quite large if as many lenders end up selling their loans to the Department as is expected.

Higher Ed Watch Wins National Education Reporting Award

For second year in a row, Higher Ed Watch from the Education Writer’s Association. This year, the blog won a special citation in the education blog category for a series of posts we ran last year on the subprime private student loan scandal. The following are links to the prize-winning posts: (1/30/08); (3/25/08); (4/10/08); (4/16/08); (5/1/08); (6/17/08); (9/25/08); (12/10/08); (12/11/08); (12/17/08).