Furcolo Submits U.S. Scholarship Bill to Congress

Spurred by President Truman's budget message recommendation for Federal loans to college students, Representative Foster Furcolo (D-Mass.) said yesterday that he planned to introduce such a bill in Congress.

"I hope," Furcolo said, "that this specific White House backing of the scholarship proposal may bring early congressional hearings and actions on my measure."

The congressman introduced similar bills in both 1949 and 1950. He recalled that he had discussed his plan with the President before he offered it the first time, and received encouragement at that time.

In his budget message the President declared that there is a need for "an increasing number of people who have advanced education and training." He added that a program of federal scholarship aid "is the logical and practical answer," and asked for an appropriation of 30 million dollars to implement the plan.

Furcolo's bill provides for loans up to $1,000 a year, repayable in ten years, for 5,000 incoming freshmen and 500 seniors who plan to take post-graduate work. States participating in the plan would contribute $100 for every $1,000 expended by the federal government.

"My plan is based on the premise that no qualified high school or college student would be deprived of a higher education because of financial inability to pay for it," Furcolo explained.

The congressman estimated that the government would have to appropriate about 167 million dollars over a period of 14 years.