The House Education and Workforce committee passed a bill this week to guard the student lending market from possible future downturns. The bill would authorize the Education Department to buy student loans, in the event that a lender can no longer back its loans. Student advocates point out that there is no current crisis in the student loan market and question whether the legislation is a sweetheart deal for student lenders. The proposal would increase the amounts students can borrow during the course of their college education to $31,000 for financially dependent undergraduates, and to $57,500 for financially independent graduates.

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