Senator
Ferlo Sends Letter to President in Support of
Federal Student Loan Funding
April 18, 2008
The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush:
I am writing to respectfully request your
immediate action to prevent any disruption in
the flow of Federal student loans to individuals
attending post-secondary institutions throughout
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and nationwide.
On February 21, 2008, more than 50 leaders in
higher education, policymakers, and financial
institutions attended an emergency “Student Loan
Financing Summit” in Harrisburg Pennsylvania.
The main topic of the summit was the grave
concern that disruptions in the global financial
markets could have dire consequences for
students seeking to obtain Federal student loans
for the 2008-2009 academic year, which begins
this summer.
As a result I fully support a call to action
and share the concern regarding the detrimental
impact of a disruption in student loan-funding
on students and their families, schools, and the
economy of the State of Pennsylvania. I join
with other friends of higher education in asking
you to please implore the U.S. Secretary of the
Treasury, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and the
President of the Federal Home Loan Bank of
Pittsburgh to use all resources available to
them to provide much needed short and long term
financial assistance and assure the availability
of student loans to Pennsylvania’s students and
families. We further call upon the Members of
the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation to
join with us in our request
As a Pennsylvania State Senator I am in daily
contact with my constituents, and I know that
time is of the essence. Every day that PHEAA and
other student loan providers do not have access
to the capital markets, is another day that we
move closer to a funding crisis for students and
their families. These individuals are currently
in the process of making plans regarding college
and they need the assurance that the funding
they need to pay for college will be ready and
waiting for them when they arrive at the
post-secondary school of their choice.
I urge you to contact the Secretary of
Treasury, the Secretary of Education, and the
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board today and
ask them to make finding a solution to the
student loan-funding crisis a top priority. The
students, their families, and schools across the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are depending on
you.
Thank you for your consideration of this
important issue.
Sincerely,
Jim Ferlo
State Senator 38th District
cc:
The Honorable Margaret Spellings, Secretary
of Education
The Honorable Henry Paulson, Secretary of the
Treasury
The Honorable Ben Bernake, Federal Reserve Board
Chairman
The Honorable Arlen Specter, United States
Senator
The Honorable Robert Casey, United States
Senator
The Honorable Mike Doyle, United States
Congressman |
