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!
- This post was written by Kate Callahan, Communications and Lobby Day Intern, Campus Progress.
Last Thursday, the morning after the 2009 Campus Progress National Conference, a hundred young people participated in a lobby day on Capitol Hill where they met with their elected officials demanding action on the issues that will determine what economic opportunities our generation will have, specifically health care reform, green job creation, and college affordability. The Lobby Day was co-sponsored by Campus Progress Action, Health Care For America Now, Energy Action Coalition and the Student PIRGs.
The committed early risers woke up with an assortment of coffee, fruit, bagels and pastries while listening to a motivational speech by Campus Progress Deputy Director Erica Williams and Advocacy Associate Tommaso Boggia on the dos and don’ts of lobbying, before splitting off into issue training groups. The students were then set free with schedules in hand to navigate through halls of Senate offices in Hart, Dirksen and Russell, as well as House offices in Rayburn, Longworth and Canon. Some were dressed in oversized graduation gowns and arm slings to emphasize their points.
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.
“The world is falling!” seems to be the only thing coming out of conservative congresspeople from both parties and polluting industries these days. Whether it’s about expanding student loan programs by making the whole process more efficient or re-energizing our economy with investments in clean energy jobs, the message of the opposition is always the same: progressive priorities will bankrubt the system and hurt common people. Behind this smokescreen of fear tactics, most voters don’t know that while these legislators are playing chicken little with their costituent’s minds, they are lining their pockets with donations from the same industries targeted by progressive reforms.
Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman had a great opinion piece in yesterday’s New York Times calling out conservative lies about the impacts of clean economy legislation on everyday Americans.
”Just as denials that climate change is happening are junk science, predictions of economic disaster if we try to do anything about climate change are junk economics…
If emission permits were auctioned off — as they should be — the revenue thus raised could be used to give consumers rebates or reduce other taxes, partially offsetting the higher prices. But the offset wouldn’t be complete. Consumers would end up poorer than they would have been without a climate-change policy.”
Krugman isn’t the only one not buying the corporate tools. According to two recent polls, one conducted by ABC News/Washington Post and one by NBC News/Wall Street Journal, the majority of americans (up to 75% of respondents to the ABC/WP one) want President Obama to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of whether it will come at a cost.
The business sector is waking up as well and recognizing that coal power plants might not be a good investment after all. LS Power just suspended its third coal project this year due to uncertainty about the economic viability of burning coal in the future. This is a huge victory for the climate movement and for the communities that would have been subject to the averse health impacts of living next to a coal burning power plant.
While it’s great that the public, economists, and businesses are turning their backs on our dirty past, many of our politicians are still too busy counting their carbon dollars. Check out this grassroots campaign to get Democrats toforgo funding from PACs and call your representatives to tell them to support a climate bill that makes polluters pay.
As the debate over student loan reform continues, it is important for policy makers to make sure that there will be vigorous oversight of the firms that service student loans. Student loan borrowers should be protected from overzealous and irresponsible lenders and loan servicers—for both federal and private loans—that engage in abusive practices.
A representative of the Direct Loan Coalition sent around a heartbreaking story today from the Consumer Warning Network about a family that was berated by Sallie Mae while trying to clear up their son’s (presumably private) student loan after his death.
Here is the first half of the interview:
This is not acceptable behavior. It is stories like this (not to mention the many that Higher Ed Watch has collected) that call into question claims by lenders that the quality of services provided to students is always better in a more competitive environment.
A story today in USA Today talks about what many college students and their parents already know: tuition is creeping higher and higher:
“Though 2009-2010 tuition rates have not been set for most public universities, increases of at least 5% to 6% — and in many cases higher — are expected as university administrators struggle to maintain quality education amid state budget cuts.”
And, the money quote:
“U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan stresses the importance of affordability amid the budget and fundraising crises. ‘Colleges that go the wrong way on this — I think they’re going to see students walk away.’ “
Now, more than ever, we need to make sure that we are giving money to students, not banks, and that the grants students are receiving are as generous as possible. Obama’s budget plan would do that. Take action today and tell your elected officials why we need to back Obama’s budget proposals for higher education!
From trains to electric cars, this has been an exciting week for investments in climate friendly transportation.
In Michigan, home of the fossil fuel friendly and bankrupt American automakers, Governor Jennifer Granholm put her money where her mouth is when it comes to green jobs. The green Governor announced tax breaks for advanced battery companies to set up shop in her state, and firms are swarming. Along with help from Federal stimulus money, four companies already committed to invest $1.7 billion to set up their assembly lines in the state and create 6,700 much needed jobs.
Another exciting development in green recovery happened this morning when Vice President Biden introduced the $8 billion dollar federal plan to expand high speed rail as allocated in the recovery package. High speed rail has the potential to create thousands of jobs and drastically reduce our transportation carbon footprint. Many people (me, Europeans, Joe Biden) would also argue that it improves quality of life and inter-city trade by reducing traffic congestion, providing stress-free inter-city travel and providing a low-cost travel alternative. Check out the map of proposed routes below the fold to see if you’ll have access to high-speed rail.
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.
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Last Thursday, the morning after the 2009 Campus Progress National Conference, a hundred young people participated in a lobby day on Capitol Hill where they met with their elected officials demanding action on the issues that will determine what economic opportunities our generation will have, specifically health care reform, green job creation, and college affordability. The Lobby Day was co-sponsored by Campus Progress Action, 
In Michigan, home of the fossil fuel friendly and bankrupt American automakers, Governor Jennifer Granholm put her money where her mouth is when it comes to green jobs. The green Governor announced