{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=15ba0573-c48e-42fa-b955-34863a051383", "Alexander: Bill to Extend Perkins Loan Program for 2 Years Heads to Presidents Desk", "2015-12-18", "2015", "2015-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.,Dec. 17 The chairman of the Senate education committee today made the following statement on his legislation to extend the Perkins Loan Program for two years, which now heads to the presidents desk for signature after passage today in the House:\r\nMy goal in the Senate education committee is to find ways to simplify the complicated maze of federal grant and loan programs that are available to students, making it easier for them to apply for financial aid and afford college, Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said. The agreement headed to the presidents desk today will extend the Perkins Program for two yearswhilegiving Congress timeto reach consensus on the best way to achieve that important goal in the next Higher Education Act reauthorization.\r\nAlexanders legislation, the Federal Perkins Loan Program Extension Act of 2015, with original cosponsors Sens. Ayotte (R-N.H.), Tammy Baldwin (R-Wisc.), John Boozman (R-Miss.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), passed the Senate unanimously yesterday.\r\nPrior to Senate passage, Alexander delivered remarks on the Senate floor, joined by Sens. Ayotte, Baldwin, Casey and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).\r\nVideo of Alexanders remarks are available HERE. \r\n# # #\r\nFor access to this release and the senators other statements, click here.\r\nTo stay up-to-date on the senators latest actions, follow him on Twitter and YouTube.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ContentRecord_id=15ba0573-c48e-42fa-b955-34863a051383"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3461438938975334, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}