Democratic leaders in the House are working furiously to gather enough support to pass a budget reconciliation bill that would include healthcare reform and student loan reform. House Web sites and phone lines were jammed yesterday afternoon as constituents from around the country dialed in to voice opinions on the bill, according to Roll Call. As of yesterday evening, the reconciliation bill language had yet to be released publicly. Meanwhile, Republicans held a press conference yesterday saying that student loan reform would cost jobs and force students into a student loan experience that would be akin to dealing with the DMV.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) introduced financial reform legislation on Monday that did not include a provision to require institutions to certify their students’ private student loans. The legislation also lacked disclosure exemptions for low-costing nonfederal loans provided by states and institutions and other low-cost student loans provided by other federal agencies as advocated by NASFAA. Last week, NASFAA and representatives met with members of Sen. Dodd’s staff who were receptive to exemptions for federal Title VII and Title VIII loans. This legislation is a long way from becoming law and NASFAA and others are working with Senators to ensure these important consumer protections are included in the final bill.

Yesterday, NASFAA emailed a survey invitation to all Today’s News subscribers. The survey is being conducted by NASFAA’s Institutional Program Management Committee as part of the charge given by National Chair Dr. Barry Simmons to explore credentialing of financial aid professionals. The results of the survey will be used to make a recommendation to the NASFAA Board of Directors on professional recognition, and will be released during a session at the NASFAA conference this summer. If you did not receive a survey invitation and your institution or organization is a NASFAA member, email us to receive the survey link.

Make plans now to join your colleagues at the 2010 NASFAA National Conference, hosted in vibrant and beautiful Denver, Colorado. NASFAA’s National Conference hosts thousands of aid administrators annually, offering professional advice, expert guidance from policymakers, and the wisdom and camaraderie of colleagues. Mark your calendar for the NASFAA National Conference July 18 — 21, 2010 at the Colorado Convention Center, and prepare to benefit from the best educational and networking opportunities – and the outstanding variety of entertainment! Denver, the Mile High City, is famous as the gateway city for major winter sports in the Rocky Mountains but there’s plenty to see and do all year round in Denver itself.

The NASFAA Finance and Audit Committee has created a summary of NASFAA’s budget and finances so members can see how their membership dues are used to provide NASFAA products, services, and activities. The report summarizes NASFAA’s budget process, revenues, and expenses. The report also compares NASFAA’s latest revenue and expenditure numbers with 2007 numbers to show how NASFAA has adjusted to a tighter budget without eliminating member products and services.

This letter announces additional instructor-led, online training on implementation of the year-round Pell Grant provision. This training was first offered in February 2010. Due to high demand for this information, the Department is offering these webinars again in late March 2010. The Higher Education Opportunity Act authorizes schools to disburse up to two Pell Grants in a single award year, beginning with the 2009-10 Award Year, for Pell-eligible students. The focus of this training will be implementation of the year-round Pell Grant provision for the 2009-10 Award Year, including Summer 2010, and subsequent award years. It is intended for all schools that participate in the Pell Grant Program.

“[S]everal members of Congress are expressing concern about why the U.S. Education Department and the Department of Health and Human Services have been unable to reach agreement on the former’s use of a database managed by the latter that allows student loan guarantee agencies and others to track student loan borrowers who aren’t repaying their debt,” Inside Higher Ed reports. “The foregone revenues from the lack of a ‘matching agreement’ between the two agencies for more than a year now is $1.2 billion, according to the letter from four Democratic members of the House of Representatives.”

“Heirs to a supermarket fortune will launch a multimillion-dollar scholarship foundation designed to encourage graduate students to pursue government careers in national security, foreign policy and international development,” Washington Post reports. “The Robertson Foundation for Government plans to eventually provide full financial support to hundreds of graduate students in those fields who agree to at least three years of service with a federal agency within five years of graduation. … The foundation plans to name four or five partner universities in coming weeks and then select its first eight fellows by the start of the 2010-11 academic year.”

“Alabama’s prepaid college tuition plan appears unable to pay tuition beyond the fall semester of 2011 and still have enough money to provide refunds to the 44,000 participants, administrators said,” the Associated Press reports.

“Throughout the first week of March, college students organized over 120 actions in over thirty states to rally against the historic divestment from higher education,” writes United States Student Association President Gregory Cendana in The Hill. “On March 20-23rd, over five hundred students are taking this vigor and enthusiasm to Capitol Hill to urge their Senators to pass a student aid reform proposal that has recently been included in the budget reconciliation bill. … Students overwhelmingly support the proposal. During the 2009 National Student Congress, student aid reform was unanimously passed as a top legislative priority for the United States Student Association, which represents over 4.5 million college students.”