"You can dress this up 100 different ways and put a Santa Hat on it, but this is still the same budget gimmick lenders have been pushing for months to line their own pockets" - Rep. George Miller
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), at the request of Sen. Casey, just examined the alternative to the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) written by Sallie Mae. The last time the plan was examined by the CBO, it found that it would mean $13-17 billion less in grants for students, investments in community colleges, funding for early learning programs, etc.
This time around, the CBO put that number at $4 billion.
But, as Rep. Miller said in a press release earlier today, “you can dress this up 100 different ways and put a Santa Hat on it, but this is still the same budget gimmick lenders have been pushing for months to line their own pockets with billions of dollars that should be used to help students.” Both Rep. Miller and Sen. Harkin—Chairmen of the House and Senate education committees, respectively—pointed out that Sallie Mae was able to do better with the CBO this time because the lenders had their plan “sunset” after five years, while SAFRA is calculated for 10 years.
The lenders will, undoubtedly, fight for their plan to be continued in five years, which would mean at least $8 billion less to invest in education. (more…)
The battle to make college more affordable has come down to a critical few weeks in the Senate. The banks and student loan companies already have spent millions of dollars on lobbying, PR firms, and advertisements in their attempt to stop reform and hang on to wasteful government subsidies. This would mean $87 billion less for programs to make college more affordable and accessible.
Now Campus Progress is taking action. We’ve raised money to put this :30 second spot on cable TV and on Hulu in key states across the country:
We don’t have the kind of money student loan companies have, so we’re going to need your help spreading the ad on Facebook, Twitter, and email if we’re going to get the word out. Click here to help us spread the word.
If that sounds a bit boring, then you haven’t been paying attention. Private student loans, which contain few borrower protections and high interest rates, became nearly impossible to discharge under bankruptcy because of legislation passed in 2005. This has made private student loans more dangerous for students and more lucrative banks.
The bottom line: students have been singled out for less protection. What does this say about our country’s priorities?
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!
In a 30-17 vote, the House Education and Labor Committee passed the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA, HR 3221) today, making it likely that it will reach the full House within the week.
The bill would represent the largest investment in student aid in US history. By cutting wasteful subsidies to student loan companies, this legislation would save $87 billion over ten years that would be reinvested in increasing student aid, investing in college access and completion programs, supporting community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and minority serving institutions, and other programs that would increase educational opportunities for low and middle income families. It would also commit $10 billion to reducing the deficit.
There were several important changes to the bill, including: (more…)
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!
According to an article in the New York Times, the House Committee on Education and Labor will be introducing legislation this week along the lines of President Obama’s proposal to cut wasteful subsidies to student loan companies and use the $87 billion in savings to make college more affordable for low and middle income students.
Loan companies circulated at least 13 different plans on Capitol Hill, lobbied furiously against the President’s proposal, and finally (almost) uniting around a single “Frankenstein” counter-proposal. It now looks like these efforts have failed to influence the shape of the legislation that will be considered in the House Education and Labor Committee. (more…)
Yesterday I sent off a Tweet saying: “Tired of Waxman compromising. Admiring Peterson for standing up for his constituents (ag). Wish Markey would too. #ACES” just to receive a bunch of responses along the lines of: “I don’t understand what you’re talking about” and realized maybe it’s time for a non-wonky update on why our future (might) not be as rosy as it could be.
The Waxman Markey bill (aka American Clean Energy and Security Act, Clean Energy Jobs bill, Lightswitch Tax,Clean Coal Billetc) started out as an ambitious proposal in President Obama’s budget which called for the United States to once again find its greatness and power through an overhaul of the way we use electricity. It called for us to generate large amounts of renewable energy (i.e. energy that doesn’t run out and doesn’t harm the health of surrounding communities), to stop wasting electricity by modernizing our distribution networks and a plan to put a price on carbon and redirect revenue to help low-income Americans cope with increasing energy prices and help mitigate effects of the climate crisis throughout the world among others.
Last Thursday, the House Committee on Education and Labor held a hearing on President Obama’s proposal to cut wasteful subsidies to student loan companies in order to increase grants to low and middle income students. Campus Progress Action submitted a statement to the committee—check it out.
Here are some clips from the hearing:
Testimony from Robert Shireman, who is the Deputy Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education and the former President of The Institute for College Access and Success.
Rep. Rob Andrews questioning the witnesses. For a bit of comic relief, check out Rep. Andrews questioning Dr. Richard Vedder, a conservative economist that writes about higher education issues, at 3:39.
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.
In a 30-17 vote, the House Education and Labor Committee passed the 
