Obama praises college bill passage

President Obama today applauded a House approval of a sweeping college aid overhaul.

As well he should since the measure incorporates nearly all of his campaign pledges on higher education: It ends subsidies for private lenders and boots them from the student loan business, increases Pell Grants for needy students, and offers grants to improve community colleges.

"I want to thank the House of Representatives for the progress they made today on the reforms I’ve proposed to strengthen higher education and our early education system," Obama said in a statement.

"Today, the House delivered a historic set of reforms to the financial aid system that will offer relief to students and families. This bill will end the billions upon billions of dollars in unwarranted subsidies that we hand out to banks and financial institutions, and will use that money to guarantee access to low-cost loans, and strengthen Pell Grants and Perkins loans that make college more affordable. This bill also follows through on our plan to shore up our community college system, simplifies the complicated financial aid forms to make it easier for students to apply for and get the help they need, and will strengthen standards and improve outcomes in early learning programs. I look forward to signing these reforms into law."