(February 2010) House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt (D-SC) asked several questions of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the proposed changes for Perkins Loans at a Committee hearing in February. Secretary Duncan appeared before the House Budget Committee this week, testifying on the Department’s FY2011 budget request and continuing to speak out in support of SAFRA.

Spratt asked Duncan if the current program is working, specifically mentioning “the human touch on campus” offered through the Perkins’ campus-based servicing structure. Duncan responded yes, Perkins “is working,” and said that was why the Department was seeking to expand it. The Secretary did not mention the SAFRA provisions to convert the Perkins Program to something very similar to unsubsidized Stafford Loans, but did say the Department would work with Congressman Spratt to address his concerns with the Perkins changes. Spratt said he appreciated Duncan’s pledge to work with him on this issue and that the Secretary could expect to receive a letter formally expressing his concerns over the elimination of the campus-based administration of Perkins.

Although they voted for the overall SAFRA bill when it passed the House in September, two very important Members of Congress, Spratt and Rep. Tim Bishop (the only former financial aid director in Congress) have now said they have concerns with the proposed changes for Perkins.

According to senior officials at the Department of Education, the concerns of the Chairman of the House Budget Committee with part of a proposal that will likely need to pass through the use of budget reconciliation are “on the radar” of Secretary Duncan and ED will work with Chairman Spratt to address his concerns as the bill moves forward.

A summary of the entire hearing prepared by Washington Partners is included in the attachments of this week’s edition of The Torch. While the Secretary and certain Members did mention SAFRA on multiple occasions, as this year’s budget request lays out the administration’s vision for ESEA (formerly NCLB) reauthorization, most of the questions at the hearing focused on K-12 issues.

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