Perkins Loan Program dies as Alexander blocks funding bill - Tara García Mathewson, Education Dive

The Federal Perkins Loan Program died Wednesday when Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) prevented a one-year extension bill from making it out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports the program was the federal government’s oldest student loan program, providing $36 billion in aid to 30 million low-income students since its creation in 1958. The House of Representatives approved a one-year extension for the program on Monday as an attempt to keep the program going until Congress can reauthorize the Higher Education Act, but the Senate could not achieve the same. http://www.educationdive.com/news/perkins-loan-program-dies-as-alexander-blocks-funding-bill/406660/