The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), a bill that will make college more accessible to millions of young people. The vote was 253-171.

Student advocacy organizations like the United States Students Association and Campus Progress lauded the bill's passage, which comes at a time when colleges are becoming increasingly more unaffordable and the number of students graduating with more than $25,000 of student loan debt is multiplying.

SAFRA will improve early education through new investments in a prekindergarten grant program and funding for school facilities. The bill will also expand the federal direct lending program and keep interest rates low on need-based student loans.

The largest sum of money – $40 billion – will be used to increase the maximum annual Pell Grant, a need-based federal scholarship that helps low-income families pay for college. Another $2.55 billion will be invested in historically black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to increase the number of students that graduate.  More money will also be invested in community colleges across America to improve both their courses and facilities.