Hearings on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, and specifically Guaranteed Student Loans (GSL), are presented, with a focus on issues of multiple disbursements, loan consolidation, subsidies, and copayments. Witnesses represent the lending institutions, secondary markets, and students. The GSL program is designed to promote the…

This article presents arguments in favor of the federal government providing loans directly to higher education students (without intermediate lenders and secondary markets). It explains loan funding, processing, fund dispersal, college responsibilities, and remaining legislative hurdles. It attempts to dispel myths, such as that direct loans…