Congress Passes Hurricane-Relief Bill.

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Author: Burd, Stephen

The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill that would provide colleges with up to $36-million more in federal aid to help support students who have been affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The legislation had already been passed by the House of Representatives. President Bush was expected to sign the measure into law late last week.

Under the bill, the funds would come from three existing aid programs: Federal Work-Study, Perkins Loans, and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. Every year some colleges that participate in those campus-based programs receive more money than they need and are required to return those funds to the Education Department.

The legislation would authorize the secretary of education to send the excess funds to colleges in the Gulf Coast region that were damaged by the hurricanes, as well as to institutions that enroll displaced students.

The Senate approval of the measure came just in time. The legislation had to be passed before October 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year, when the department would have been required to return the excess aid dollars to the U.S. Treasury.

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By Stephen Burd