Congressional Democrats have begun private discussions on cutting down their $87-billion student-loan bill, largely accepting the political reality forced by new estimates of the legislation's cost and savings.

The talks began in recent days, after a new analysis last week by the Congressional Budget Office showed that President Obama's proposal to end the bank-based system of distributing federal student loans would save $67-billion over 10 years.

Democrats had hoped the savings would be much higher and would finance a major increase in the Pell Grant program for low-income students, as well as help for students needing low-interest loans, community colleges, minority-serving institutions, and other educational priorities.

The United States is doing a lousy job at helping people get training and then find a job, argued a group of scholars who gathered here Wednesday to unveil a set of suggested reforms.
A sweeping blueprint for updating and coordinating the myriad federal, state and local resources individuals use to find employment is outlined in the latest policy paper from the Center for American Progress.

Facing a phalanx of angry military spouses, the Defense Department said Thursday it will resume payments for college courses and job training for spouses who had already applied for grants when the popular program was abruptly halted last month.

The official in charge of the year-old program that pays up to $6,000 for career advancement also apologized for suspending the grants without first notifying thousands of military spouses enrolled. He said grants were halted Feb. 16 because an unexpected spike in enrollment busted the program's $174 million budget.