Perkins Loan Extension Blocked in House, Senate

The hopes of a bipartisan group of lawmakers to extend the Perkins Loan program before it expires September 30 were frustrated Thursday.

Members of Congress in the House and Senate had introduced identical legislation to extend the program, which authorizes colleges to make small loans to students to bridge the cost of attendance, for another two years. Those bills hadn't gone anywhere in committee. 

Thursday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, asked that her extension bill be considered under unanimous consent but the request was blocked by Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate education committee. In the House, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said he had no plans to bring Perkins legislation up for a vote.