The Nation - News from May 6, 1988

The Department of Education sent Congress proposed curbs on federal student aid, including mandatory credit checks on borrowers 21 or older, a ban on assistance for high school dropouts and penalties for institutions that fail to educate their students. Bruce Carnes, the department’s deputy undersecretary, said that with defaults costing taxpayers a “horrendous” $1.6 billion a year, support is growing on Capitol Hill for cracking down on the criteria for student loans. The Reagan Administration has proposed some of these changes to Congress previously, but it has not yet lined up any sponsors for this new package of legislative proposals, department officials said.