Tell Ben Nelson and Senate Democrats Hands Off Student Aid

by: Michael Connery

Wed Jul 18, 2007 at 12:31

Here's the list of swing votes who might side with Nelson and the corporate lenders over debt-ridden students:

Alexander (R - TN)
Bayh  (D - IN)
Carper (D - DE)
Coleman (R - MN)
Collins (R - ME)
Hatch (R - UT)
Landrieu (D - LA)
McCaskill (D - MO)
Murkowski (R - AK)
Nelson, Ben (D - NE)
Nelson, Bill (D - FL)
Roberts (R - KS)
Tester (D - MT)
Webb (D - VA)

Call their offices and urge them to vote YES on S. 1762, and NO on the Nelson-Burr Amendment. The Capitol Switchboard can be reached at (202) 224-3121.
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Last week, most student organizations rejoiced as the Democrats shepherded the Cost of College Reduction Act through the House of Representatives.  The Bill represented the largest increase in student aid since the G.I. Bill.  It accomplished this in part by cutting excess government subsidies to corporate lenders, who were fattening their wallets on the backs of debt-ridden students.  Republicans tried unsuccessfully to kill the bill in the House.  The Gavel had an excellent post about that fight and the bill's passage.

The Senate version of the bill - The Higher Education Access Act of 2007 - is set to provide $17 billion in student aid to college students and recent graduates, among other provisions to further protect students.  But Ben Nelson (D-NE), whose home state is also home to Nelnet, one of the biggest corporate lenders, is trying to weaken the Senate version of the bill and return $3 billion of that to the lending industry so they can continue to line their pockets on with corporate welfare.

What I'm hearing is that the cloture votes on Iraq and the DOD reauthorization are going to fail, and the Higher Education Access Act of 2007 will be brought to the floor instead, with voting to be scheduled for today or tomorrow.  Right now, Republicans supposedly have 3-6 Democrats willing to side with lenders on the Amendment, so they are likely to see it pass. 

Here's what you can do:

• Call your Senator and urge them to vote YES on S. 1762, and NO on the Nelson-Burr Amendment. The Capitol Switchboard can be reached at (202) 224-3121, and the operators can tell you both who your Senators are and connect you.
 

• Also ask which way your Senator plans on voting.  If we can find out who those 3-6 Democrats are that are supporting lender subsidies over students we can ratchet up the pressure on them.

The lenders (and Nelson's) argument is that cuts in subsidies need to be scaled back so that lenders can offer students benefits, and that subsidy cuts will cause the loan market to consolidate and there will be less choice for students.  This is bunk.  The loan market is already consolidated, and less than 10% of students ever see a dime of those supposed "benefits."  Meanwhile, groups like NelNet and Sallie Mae have used those government subsidies to give outrageous benefits packages to CEOs, reap hundreds of millions in additional profits, and improperly wine and dine university officials who should be protecting the interests of students.

$3 billion could fund 588,000 Pell Grants at the maximum level of $5100.  As millions of students are getting priced out of college, or saddled with unmanageable levels of debt, our government should be voting to protect and aid students, not funnel more money to corporations already reaping hundreds of millions in government subsidies and profits.