WASHINGTON – Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee, wrote to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and urged them to immediately implement H.R. 5715, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, in order to provide students with the access to needed loans to pay for school in the fall.  The House passed the Senate’s amendments to H.R. 5715 on May 1, but without swift action from the Administration, students and their families will not experience the intended effects of this important legislation.

“Nearly three weeks have passed since Congress completed its work on H.R. 5715, but we have yet to see any meaningful action from the Administration to implement this time-sensitive legislation,” said Chairman Kanjorski.  “The Administration must act before Memorial Day in order to prepare for the peak lending season this fall.  Students must have every opportunity to further their education, and it would be irresponsible for the Administration to allow anyone to drop out of school because the Administration did not act quickly enough to implement the law.”

Kanjorski, whose district includes all of Monroe County,  has introduced two other bills to address problems in the student loan marketplace.