U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Tim Bishop (D-NY) held a teleconference Tuesday with student journalists from around the country to talk about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA).

The bill includes a range of reforms that will save $87 billion over ten years, guarantees students access to affordable loans, and makes it easier to use the FAFSA to apply for financial aid.  Representatives Miller and Bishop expect the bill to pass the Senate before the holidays.

SAFRA, which already passed the House Committee on Education and Labor, will change government lending programs by making all loans directly to students.  Currently, some federal loans are made through the Federal Family Education Loan program (FFEL), which distributes government money to students via subsidies to private lenders.

The bill will also invest $40 billion in the Pell Grant program, put $12 billion into community colleges, increase the Federal Perkins loan program by $6 billion, and put $85 million into Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions.

"We're convinced that we have to educate our way to a better economy," said Secretary Duncan. He said that passing this bill will mean that "we can look every young person in the eye."

The Student PIRGs are organizing a symbolic “Wall of Debt” to represent the enormity of the student debt problem and show the urgency of the legislation. The PIRGs are joined by efforts from the United States Student Association, who has worked on the bill with House Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Duncan in a press conference on Tuesday.

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