Obama speaks to students at George Mason University on March 19 in his last healthcare rally before the House passed the bill on Sunday night.

President Barack Obama will sign health care and student loan reform into law on Tuesday at NOVA’s Alexandria campus.

The modified healthcare reform bill contains several new provisions from the one Obama signed into law earlier this week. One of the largest changes is the inclusion of student loan reform, which makes the government more involved in handing out loans. It also caps the maximum loan repayment to 10 percent of a person’s annual income.

Savings from student loan reform will fund investments in community colleges, historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, and other minority serving institutions. In his Saturday address Obama said this is projected to save the government up to $68 billion.

There are numerous changes in the reconciliation bill for health care. The revisions increase tax credits for middle class families who buy insurance and reduces penalties for not buying insurance from $750 to $695.

The health care bill was criticized as having many backroom deals and pork. The reconciliation measure eliminates the so called Cornhusker Kickback, which gave specific states additional money for health costs. The change now covers 100 percent of the increased Medicaid costs of all states until 2016 and then decreases annually.

The reconciliation move is a complicated senate procedure that allows for a bill to become law with only 51 votes in the Senate, as opposed to the 60 usually required to avoid a filibuster. The bill passed the House 220 to 207, and the Senate voted 56 to 43. Republicans were unanimous in their opposition.

By: Joshua Davis

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