Former U.S. Representative Tim Bishop (D-NY) writes: One vitally important program that must also be re-authorized by Sept. 30, but has received virtually no public attention, is the Perkins Loan program. First started in the late 1950’s, and originally called the National Defense Student Loan program (NDSL), the Perkins Loan program is one of the three Campus-Based student aid programs, joining the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS).