President Bush Reconsiders Financial-Aid Law.

The Bush administration is reviewing the 1998 federal law that prohibits individuals with previous drug convictions from receiving financial aid for college, the Columbus Dispatch reported March 7.

Many, including Republicans who wrote the legislation, said the law is too harsh because it includes all drug convictions, even ones from many years ago.

Rep. Mark Souder (R-Indiana), who wrote the amendment to the Higher Education Act, said the law was only intended to prohibit students who receive drug convictions while in college. He said the Clinton administration misinterpreted the law and applied it to high-school students and older adults trying to return to college.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 25,662 students were denied federal financial aid for the 2002-2003 school year because of past drug offenses. In the previous year, the number was 29,251. Officials said the numbers are probably higher because others don't bother to apply.

In his 2005 budget proposal, Bush has called for a revision to the law so it would apply only to drug offenses that occur in college.