Senator Schumer visits campus with call to save Perkins Loan

SchumerUnited States Senator for New York Charles Schumer came to SUNY New Paltz on Oct. 12 to discuss the Federal Perkins Loan Program, which for over half a century has helped people with great financial need pay for college and university study with low-interest loans. The program is in danger after the U.S. Congress allowed it to expire on Sept. 30.

Schumer stood before the Atrium and addressed a gathering of New Paltz students and faculty and staff from New Paltz, SUNY Orange and Marist on the need to save the Perkins Loan program, which annually helps more than 500,000 students pay for their educations.

“With the cost of college continuing to increase, Congress should be doing more, not less, to make college affordable,” Schumer said. “That’s why I am urging my colleagues in the Senate to extend the Higher Education Extension Act of 2015 for one year to prevent the Perkins Loan program stalling any longer.”

SUNY New Paltz has typically awarded about $500,000 annually to more than 150 students with financial need. The Perkins program offers these loans to students and families whose alternatives for borrowing are often unaffordable or non-existent, and does so at a low interest rate of 5 percent that most students find manageable after graduation.

New Paltz President Donald P. Christian noted that the Perkins Loan program has a particular impact on students who enroll at the College through its Educational Opportunity Program (EOP).

“Perkins aid has been our most significant source of flexible financial aid for students who are from middle and low-income backgrounds,” Christian said. “For these students, Perkins fills the gap that exists after all other aid has been exhausted. It is the very reason many students can continue to sustain their enrollment at the College. The loss of this program would be devastating to these students and their futures. Our nation needs a longer-term solution if our young people are to realize the promise offered by an advanced degree and an education.”

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein was also in attendance and joined in the call to save the Perkins Loan.

“The importance of access to higher education cannot be understated,” Hein said. “It is the prerequisite to obtaining the American Dream and has the unique ability of changing the trajectory of so many lives. I commend Senator Schumer for working to restore federal funding for the Perkins Loan program at a time when many families across the country are faced with ever increasing college tuition costs.”

More information about the Federal Perkins Loan Program is available on the website of the U.S. Department of Education.