Demonstrating a rare bipartisan consensus, the Senate by 95-0 passed an overhaul Tuesday of the primary law governing federal aid to colleges and the students who attend them.

The bill (S 1642), a five-year reauthorization, was painstakingly crafted by Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Michael B. Enzi of Wyoming, the panel’s ranking Republican.

It was the first reauthorization of the Higher Education Act since 1998. Ever since that version (PL 105-244) lapsed, programs under the act have been kept afloat through annual appropriations and temporary extensions of the authorization.

The reauthorization bill’s future path is unclear. The House has yet to assemble its own version of the reauthorization.

Senate action came just days after the Senate on July 20 passed a companion bill (HR 2669) that would cut federal subsidies for private lenders in order to beef up Pell grants for the poorest college students, cap loan repayments at 15 percent of monthly income and offer loan forgiveness to graduates after 10 years of work in public service jobs.

Before passing the higher education reauthorization, the Senate adopted 93-0 an amendment reflecting a compromise between Kennedy and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., making clear that colleges could not use federal aid to lobby Congress or the executive branch for earmarks or other favors.