Thursday, April 27, 2006
Democrats Announce College Funding Plan
We've heard it many times before. Democrats have no plan. All we can do is criticize the GOP. I will devote more of my blogging efforts to show that to be untrue. Democrats do have plans. Granted, we can't shrink them down to 30-second soundbytes as well as the Republicans, but we've got them.
One plan I'm glad to be passing on is our plan for higher education funding. In spite of a massive lobbying effort by student groups, the Republican House pushed through a $12 billion cut in federal student aid, the largest cut in history.
By 2020, the U.S. is expected to experience a shortage of up to 12 million college-educated workers, yet that didn't stop the Republicans from making their $12 billion cut in federal student aid programs. The cuts will help finance tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. As I said earlier, this was the single largest cut in the history of financial aid programs. Democratic leaders have now introduced legislation to "Reverse the Raid on Student Aid."
Congressman George Miller and Senator Dick Durbin have stepped up to the plate and introduced the 'Reverse the Raid on Student Aid' bill that would:
One plan I'm glad to be passing on is our plan for higher education funding. In spite of a massive lobbying effort by student groups, the Republican House pushed through a $12 billion cut in federal student aid, the largest cut in history.
By 2020, the U.S. is expected to experience a shortage of up to 12 million college-educated workers, yet that didn't stop the Republicans from making their $12 billion cut in federal student aid programs. The cuts will help finance tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. As I said earlier, this was the single largest cut in the history of financial aid programs. Democratic leaders have now introduced legislation to "Reverse the Raid on Student Aid."
Congressman George Miller and Senator Dick Durbin have stepped up to the plate and introduced the 'Reverse the Raid on Student Aid' bill that would:
- Cut interest rates in half for the borrowers in most need--on subsidized student loans--from a fixed rate of 6.8% to a fixed rate of 3.4%; and,
- Cut rates on parent loans for undergraduate students from a fixed rate of 8.5% to a fixed rate of 4.25%.
Under this bill the typical undergraduate student borrower, with $17,500 in debt, would save $5,600 over the life of his or her loans.
I encourage you to read the bill. You can also read the report by the Democratic Caucus of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
If you want to take action on this issue, consider the following:
- sign an online petition endorsing the Durbin-Miller bill.
- submit written or video testimonies to the E-forum. Current college students and parents should send written or video testimonies sharing their experiences in financing a college education and their thoughts about what Congress can do to improve college access and affordability for all Americans. Testimony can also be sent by e-mail.
- add your personal student debt to the total to the State PIRG's Student Debt Clock.
So there is is. A Democratic plan for education.
