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President Barack Obama Tuesday signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, a package of amendments aimed at making improvements in the health insurance and student loan industry added to the health care reform legislation turned into law last week.

Obama touted the benefits the legislation will bring to the U.S. education system during remarks at a Virginia community college late Tuesday morning.

"A great battle pitting the interests of the banks and financial institutions against the interests of students finally came to an end," Obama said.

Under the new legislation, student loans will be administered through private companies acting under the aegis of the Education Department.

"For almost two decades we've been trying to fix a sweetheart deal ... that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks to act as unnecessary middle men in administering student loans," Obama explained.

The White House claims that by eliminating the subsidies currently accrued by banks for issuing student loans will save the government approximately $68 billion.

The legislation also allocates over $40 billion in education grants for student tuition and an additional $2 billion for community colleges nationwide.