Spellings backs student loan plan

WASHINGTON, April 23 (UPI) -- The Bush administration has endorsed a plan before Congress to buy back student loans to ensure that students can continue to borrow for college.

In an interview Tuesday, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings told The New York Times the administration wants to provide a backup for commercial lenders to ensure the credit crisis does not keep students from borrowing.

"I want to make double-dog sure that we have the tools necessary," Spellings said. "If we don't need to use them, so be it."

The Education Department reports that 43 lending institutions have withdrawn from the federal student loan program and that some banks that remain in are pickier about the loans they make. Students seeking loans for commercial colleges, for-profit institutions that mostly provide vocational training, are the most likely to have trouble.

The House passed a bill this month that authorizes the buying back of federally-guaranteed student loans through July 2009. A similar bill has been introduced in the Senate.