President Obama put some of the final touches on the health care reform law on Tuesday by signing a package of revisions to the bill that includes major changes to the student loan program for higher education.
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act is designed to end the involvement of banks in the college lending process in order to free up more money for higher education.

In a signing ceremony at Northern Virginia Community College in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., Obama said the health care reform and the revisions are "two major victories ... that will improve the lives of our people for generations to come."

The crowd of students welcomed the idea that money that used to add to banks' and lenders' profits will now be spent directly on the students' educations.

According to MTV News, "SAFRA is expected to save taxpayers $68 billion over the next decade while nearing the Obama administration's goal of producing the most college graduates in the world by 2020."

For students, the act means lower interest loans paid out directly by the government and a $36 billion increase in Pell Grant scholarships, which are awards given out as financial aid that students do not have to pay back.

Also, the legislation provides more funding for historically black colleges and minority institutions, in order to strengthen programs and add resources.

To some Republicans, the student loan changes are just another reform that gives the government too much power, which could eventually hurt students in the long term.

"This latest Washington takeover would deprive 15 million students -- who voted with their feet and chose private instead of direct loans last year -- of choosing among 2,000 lenders," said Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee earlier this month.

According to Fox News, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is worried that the law adds an additional institution to the list of many that are already "riddled with government fingerprints."

"We have the government running banks, insurance companies, car companies, health care and now the student loan business," McConnell said.

The health care reform law overall has not been receiving the best feedback from the nation's public, said the Christian Science Monitor.

In a poll taken by USA Today/Gallup, 64 percent of Americans said the law will cost the government too much and 65 percent said the law will expand the government's role in health care too much.