Tools

Obama to sign student loan legislation in Virginia

By By The Associated Press

Story Created: Mar 30, 2010 at 6:34 AM EDT

Story Updated: Mar 30, 2010 at 6:34 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is preparing to sign the piece of his sweeping health care overhaul that makes the government the primary lender to students seeking loans and strips banks of that power.

Obama plans on Tuesday to visit a northern Virginia community college, where he will sign the legislation. He has already signed the bulk of the health care measure, but a final set of tweaks provided a route for the education package, which is the largest rewrite of federal college assistance programs in four decades.

The legislation has a wide reach. About half of undergraduates receive federal student aid and about 8.5 million students are going to college with the help of Pell Grants.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

What's On