It’s unfortunate that Professor Laura Stark and her students at Wesleyan, as they state in their article, “Where are the Students?” don’t think that young people are involved in the health care debate. If they had done a little bit of research they would have found that young people are in fact very active in the health care debate, that we are informed citizens who are well aware that the health care crisis is our crisis.
They would have read about the Y.I. Want Change Coalition – a group of over 20 national youth organizations including us, Rock the Vote, 80 Million Strong, Choice USA, the Student PIRGs and others that are working to ensure that young people are not only heard in this debate, but that they also have a voice in crafting a solution. Had they done a little digging, they probably would have discovered that the Coalition has been pushing specific policy priorities and is working with Congress to ensure that these priorities are included in the final legislation.
Stark outlines a lot of good points in her essay- including the fact that young people are not likely to take a traditional job right out of college. That’s why the Y.I. Want Change Coalition, with the support of young people across the country, successfully lobbied to have an amendment included in the House health care reform legislation that will allow young people to stay on their parent’s health insurance until their 27 birthday. In addition, young people are mobilizing, hosting events and rallies on their campuses and communities, collecting petitions, and writing letters to their local newspapers. Come to think of it, Stark probably should have called her article, “Students Are Active Participants In The Health Care Debate.’
Stark is right about one thing—college students do have a major stake in the health care debate. But she’s wrong to say that young people should ‘wise’ up and start thinking about the issues. We are proud of the work that young people across the country are doing to advance real, comprehensive, affordable health care reform. Now it’s time for Congress wise up and pass legislation that takes the needs of young people into account.
In a bold editorial today, The New York Times threw its support behind the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which was passed by the House Education and Labor Committee yesterday. Despite bi-partisan support for the bill in committee, many Republicans in Congress and in the Senate are gearing up to fight tooth and nail to defeat the bill and protect the interests of banks and student loan companies. As the Times says in the editorial:
“The arguments for passing this bill and ending the subsidy program are powerful. But the Republican leadership has distorted the debate by describing the bill as a plan for pushing private capital out of student lending. It would be more accurate to describe it as a plan for pushing corporate welfare out of student lending.”
Read the full editorial here, and then take action to tell Congress why we need to pass SAFRA now!
The House Committee on Education and Labor has put up a ton of information on their site about the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (or SAFRA as we like to call it around these parts.)
One of the most interesting and useful things on the website is a myth vs. fact crib sheet about student loans under the new plan. It debunks a lot of the misleading arguments that opponents of the bill are already using to try to bring Congress over to their side, and are sure to rely in the coming weeks and months as the debate heats up.
Be sure to check it out so you will be armed with the facts to defend the bill, and take action today to tell Congress why they should support this landmark legislation!
Barron over at The New Republic posted an awesome overview of the status of the direct lending fight on TNR’s blog The Plank. Here’s a highlight:
“Facing pushback from his Democratic allies, Obama may be tempted to cave and accept some version of Sallie Mae’s plan. But he shouldn’t. It’s still a huge waste of taxpayer money, it leaves the door open for private lenders to reassert themselves in the future, and it’s more expensive for borrowers. Obama should make full use of his current political advantages and cut lenders out of the equation once and for all.”
We agree that this issue is too important to compromise.
A new poll released today showed that there is a broad base of support among faith groups for action on the pressing problem of climate change.
Here are a couple of highlights:
More than 6-in-10 (61%) believe dealing with climate change now will create new jobs and help avoid more serious economic problems in the future. Majorities of every religious group agree.
Policies that address climate change by aiding adaptation to new conditions and building resilience receive strong support among all groups surveyed. Approximately three-quarters of the general public (74%), white evangelicals (79%) and Catholics (72%) favor helping the world’s poorest people adapt to food and water shortages caused by rising global temperatures. Nearly 9-in-10 of the general public (88%), white evangelicals (89%) and Catholics (87%) support helping communities prepare for the impacts of increasingly severe natural disasters. Nearly 9-in-10 of the general public, including similar numbers of evangelicals and Catholics, also favor investing in green technology like wind turbines, solar panels, and fuel cells.
Read the full report from Faith in Public life here.
On a related note, the Center for American Progress recently put out an interesting new report about how faith groups have been working to combat global warming.
We’re sick and tired of our health care system, and chances are, you are too!
Are you worried about not having health care coverage after you graduate? Do you have a job (or two!) that doesn’t provide health care? Do you have a horror story about a friend or family member battling the health insurance company to get decent care or coverage? Send us your stories!
We spend billions more than other nations on health care, and yet we still have 46 million uninsured. In his budget proposal, President Obama pledged his commitment to making sure that ALL Americans have access to health care, not just those who can afford it. Budget resolutions in both the House and Senate, which are in the stages of being finalized, have set the stage for reforming our broken health care system and replacing it with quality, affordable health care we all can count on. Read more here about how this process will work.
As the battle for health care reform heats up, our representatives need to hear from real people like you who will benefit from quality health care now. There are a few key states — PA, OR, IA, NE, MT, WY and ME — where we will have to apply more pressure, so if you’re living in or attending school in any of those states, we especially want to hear from you.
If you’re interested in participating, please contact me ASAP at kandriulli@americanprogress.org for more information!
No, it’s not a headline from The Onion…as Think Progress reports, Rep. John Beohner (R-OH) announced yesterday that the House GOP is creating the American Energy Solutions Group, meant to “work on crafting Republican solutions to lower energy prices for American families and small businesses.”
So just who is going to be part of this group? According to the press release, the group will be led by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), a vocal opponent of cap and trade, and will also include none other than Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), both notorious deniers of global warming. Shimkus, you’ll remember, likened cap and trade to “an assault on democracy” just last week.
Here’s hoping they come up with some real solutions, but something tells us they are going to have a tough time of it.
“They are gearing up for battle. So am I. They will fight for their special interests. I will fight for…American students and their families. And for those who care about America’s future, this is a battle we can’t afford to lose.”
– President Obama responding to the “army of lobbyists” gathering to combat proposed student loan reform in the budget.
Today at the White House, President Obama met with a family struggling with student loans, reaffirming his commitment to making college more affordable. Here is a highlight from his remarks:
“…in a paradox of American life, at the very moment it’s never been more important to have a quality higher education, the cost of that kind of that kind of education has never been higher. Over the past few decades, the cost of tuition at private colleges has more than doubled, while costs at public institutions have nearly tripled. Compounding the problem, tuition has grown ten times faster than a typical family’s income, putting new pressure on families that are already strained and pricing far too many students out of college altogether. Yet, we have a student loan system where we’re giving lenders billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies that could be used to make college more affordable for all Americans.”
“…I am confident that if all of us here in Washington do what’s in the best interests of the people we represent, and reinvest not only in opening the doors of college but making sure students can walk through them, then we will help deliver the change that the American people sent us here to make. We will help Americans fulfill their promise as individuals. And we will help America fulfill its promise as a nation.”
Wow…as Think Progress reports, yesterday during a hearing Rep. Shimkus, an outspoken opponent of the President’s green energy plan, said that proposed climate legislation in the budget represents “…the largest assault on democracy and freedom in this country that I’ve ever experienced.”
Check out the video below:
You can also read more about the GOP and climate skepticism here.
Funding our Future is a campaign to pass a progressive federal budget for 2010 and ensure that our nation.s key economic choices invest in our education, spark reform of our health care system, and address climate change through cap and trade and clean energy investments. Click here for more info.
