This letter to the editor by Assistant Secretary Sally Stroup appeared in the Durham (NC) Herald-Sun on March 30, 2005.

To succeed, students need to be grounded with either a college degree or solid career training. President Bush's new education budget is a significant commitment to that goal. However, your article ["Bush budget would cut student loan program," Herald-Sun, Feb. 28] omitted several key points: First, the Perkins loan program serves only 3 percent of all post-secondary students at a limited number of colleges. Investing these funds in Pell Grants allows all needy students to benefit. Furthermore, Perkins borrowers can take advantage of low federal Stafford loans currently at 3.33 percent, a better deal than the fixed 5 percent Perkins rate.

The president's budget proposal funds higher education at record levels—more than $80 billion in grants, loans, and work-study assistance, and also improves the effectiveness of these programs. The impact of the president's fiscal 2006 budget can be seen at North Carolina's 32 private, nonprofit colleges. The president's budget increases the average Pell Grant at these colleges to $2,551. Overall, federal post-secondary student financial aid, other than Perkins, increases at these colleges by an estimated $34 million in fiscal 2006. If you subtract the Perkins funds that would have been available, there is a net increase of $15 million.

The No Child Left Behind Act revolutionized the nation's expectations for our educational system, and the president's budget proposal offers a new way of thinking about federal aid that will allow states and schools to more efficiently meet the needs of students.

Sally Stroup
Washington, D.C.
The writer is assistant secretary for post-secondary education.