Full Text of HR1194 094th General Assembly
HR1194 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Postsecondary education is increasingly essential | 3 |
| for success in the modern economy; and
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| WHEREAS, Affordability of a college degree is a growing | 5 |
| concern to students, families, and State policymakers; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois Student Assistance Commission's | 7 |
| mission statement affirms that the purpose of the Commission is | 8 |
| "to benefit society by enabling individuals to develop to their | 9 |
| fullest potential through access to quality education"; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois Student Assistance Commission's | 11 |
| secondary market, the Illinois Designated Account Purchase | 12 |
| Program (IDAPP), was created to ensure the continued | 13 |
| availability of educational loan capital; through its purchase | 14 |
| activity, IDAPP provides lenders with the liquidity they need | 15 |
| to make additional loans, and, through its Community | 16 |
| Educational Loan Partnership activity, IDAPP also acts as a | 17 |
| lender referral service, ensuring that access to educational | 18 |
| loans exists in all communities and areas of this State; and
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois Student Assistance Commission | 20 |
| operates as a national guarantor, consistently ranking among | 21 |
| the top ten guaranty agencies in the country in total dollars | 22 |
| guaranteed; and
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| WHEREAS, Since 1966, the Illinois Student Assistance | 24 |
| Commission has guaranteed over $9.4 billion in federally | 25 |
| reinsured Federal Family Education Loan Program loans for | 26 |
| qualified students and parents; and | 27 |
| WHEREAS, Revenues from the IDAPP help allow the Illinois | 28 |
| Student Assistance Commission to fund a number of programs and | 29 |
| services, including financial aid workshops, 1-800 help lines, |
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| 1.5 million informational pamphlets annually, outreach | 2 |
| services to over 500,000 individuals annually, informational | 3 |
| websites, credit-based alternative loan programs, low interest | 4 |
| loans, interest rate reduction programs, financial aid grants, | 5 |
| financial aid scholarships, College Illinois!, support | 6 |
| services for families and students, default prevention | 7 |
| services, and training and technical assistance; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, Without a guaranteed revenue stream from the | 9 |
| IDAPP, other services offered through the Illinois Student | 10 |
| Assistance Commission may potentially lose their funding; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, The Illinois Student Assistance Commission has | 12 |
| proposed selling part or all of its Illinois Designated Account | 13 |
| Purchase Program to a private, for-profit entity; and | 14 |
| WHEREAS, The Illinois Student Assistance Commission offers | 15 |
| an array of low interest educational loan programs with | 16 |
| reasonable and manageable repayment terms; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, The Illinois Designated Account Purchase Program | 18 |
| serves an estimated 335,000 student loan borrowers, with an | 19 |
| estimated value of $3.8 billion in loans; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, From Fiscal Year 2000 to Fiscal Year 2005, the | 21 |
| number of borrowers who benefited from the IDAPP has increased | 22 |
| by 54%; and | 23 |
| WHEREAS, Student loans are now the single biggest source of | 24 |
| financial aid for students, and the average debt for an | 25 |
| ISAC-backed Stafford Loan recipient has increased by 28% from | 26 |
| Fiscal Year 2000 to Fiscal Year 2005; and | 27 |
| WHEREAS, Student loan borrowers use loans as a necessary | 28 |
| means to acquire access to a higher education; and |
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| WHEREAS, Other states have privatized programs equivalent | 2 |
| to the Illinois Designated Account Purchase Program, and, | 3 |
| according to published news reports, student loan borrowers in | 4 |
| Ohio and Maine experienced negative consequences; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, According to the National Center for Public Policy | 6 |
| and Higher Education, 200,000 individuals nationally do not | 7 |
| pursue a higher education every year due to costs; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS, We, the House of Representatives, support | 9 |
| affordability and accessibility in post-secondary education | 10 |
| and want to maintain services that help students acquire a | 11 |
| post-secondary education; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 13 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 14 |
| the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, | 15 |
| in conjunction with the Board of Higher Education, publish a | 16 |
| report to determine the potential effects to student loan | 17 |
| borrowers in the Illinois Designated Account Purchase Program | 18 |
| if the Illinois Designated Account Purchase Program were to be | 19 |
| sold to a for-profit entity; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the report shall suggest options on how to | 21 |
| ensure affordability and accessibility for student loan | 22 |
| borrowers in the case that the loans are privatized; and be it | 23 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That the report shall suggest options on how the | 25 |
| State will allocate resources to maintain or improve the | 26 |
| quantity of students served and the quality of the Illinois | 27 |
| Student Assistance Commission's student service programs in | 28 |
| the event that revenue from the Illinois Designated Account | 29 |
| Purchase Program is privatized; and be it further | 30 |
| RESOLVED, That the Commission on Government Forecasting |
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| and Accountability and the Board of Higher Education shall | 2 |
| release their report no later than July 1, 2006; and be it | 3 |
| further | 4 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of the report from the | 5 |
| Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability and | 6 |
| the Board of Higher Education, upon release, shall be delivered | 7 |
| to all legislative members and executive officers; and be it | 8 |
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| RESOLVED, That no further action shall be taken by the | 10 |
| Illinois Student Assistance Commission to sell the Illinois | 11 |
| Designated Account Purchase Program until May 31, 2007; and be | 12 |
| it further | 13 |
| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 14 |
| delivered to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the | 15 |
| Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, and | 16 |
| the Board of Higher Education.
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