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   Dan Savage, the brilliant and foul-mouthed sex columnist, has become one of the most important ethicists in America. Are we screwed?
 The federal government is supposed to issue new rules about debt levels for students in for-profit colleges. In the meantime, the states are working on their own regulations.
 Washingtons budget hawks want to decimate the federal workforce to shrink the deficit. It will have the opposite effect.
 There arent nearly enough counterterrorism experts to instruct all of Americas police. So we got these guys instead.
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March 12, 2010
TYING STUDENT AID TO HEALTH CARE.... It didn't come into play in earnest until this week, but a move is underway to tie together two of the Democrats' top legislative priorities into one reform package. Health care reform, obviously, is still pending, and policymakers are working on a reconciliation fix to improve the bill and send it to the Senate for an up-or-down vote. But policymakers also began working this week on expanding the scope of the reconciliation measure, and adding the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) to the language. SAFRA, of course, would save tens of billions of dollars, ending government subsidies to the student-loan industry and streamlining the loan process, as well as greatly expanding the Pell grant program for low-income students. The House has already passed the measure, but it faces a bleak future in the Senate. But, Dems figured, if they're already working on budget fixes, and they want to make it impossible for Republicans to block a vote on the student-aid bill, why not tie SAFRA to health care and let them both pass by majority-rule? On Wednesday, the approach was in trouble. Yesterday, things were looking up, and the prospects of bundling the two reform packages were improving.
This would have considerable ripple effects, all of them good. House Dems, for example, have heartily endorsed SAFRA, and if it's part of the health care package, they're more likely to vote for it. Senate Dems would lose several center-right votes -- Ben Nelson and others are deeply sympathetic to banks' opposition to student-loan reform -- but since the measure could pass with 51 votes, the majority has a fair amount of wiggle room. It's not a done deal, but yesterday offered considerable progress, and the WaPo described the bundle approach as having "new momentum." Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), who had initially balked at the idea, conceded, "I'd say yes, we're leaning toward it." White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who also supports tying the two measures together, added, "We're getting close." Keep in mind, if Dems continue to move forward on this front, the health care package will now also run into intense opposition from bank lobbyists, on top of the pressure from health insurance lobbyists. But if Democrats can deliver, it would be a tremendous accomplishment. —Steve Benen 8:35 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (16)
Comments
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Posted by: (koreyel bundles up his approval) on March 12, 2010 at 8:41 AM | PERMALINKPlease overcome the timidity, Dems. There's nothing to lose and everything to gain. Posted by: terraformer on March 12, 2010 at 8:42 AM | PERMALINKGreat idea. Turn the reconciliation act into the Democratic victory legislation of 2010. Zero Republican vote. Parents and students every where will cheer the reforms and they cut the deficit as well. Posted by: Ron Byers on March 12, 2010 at 8:45 AM | PERMALINKThe timing, going into the 2010 election cycle, could not be better. What if this was the plan all along? Pass the mother-scratchin' bill. Posted by: chrenson on March 12, 2010 at 8:48 AM | PERMALINKDear Big Corporate-Personified Bank: If you mess with my student-loan reform, I will anti-trust your hyena-esque hide into a million tiny little pieces. Cordially, Excellent, though it still doesn't eliminate the need to deep-six the filibuster. More like this, please. Posted by: jimBOB on March 12, 2010 at 9:16 AM | PERMALINKSteve, I have seen at least one and maybe several recaps of the whole sad history of private loan origination on PA. Can you repost one of those now that it might actually be fixed? Thanks. Posted by: History of Student Loans on March 12, 2010 at 9:20 AM | PERMALINKI'm just mad about SAFRA, If that rings any bells, it means you're oooooooold. Like me. Posted by: low-tech cyclist on March 12, 2010 at 9:20 AM | PERMALINKI think Republicans deep throating the healthcare bill are going to have to open a little wider. Say cheers, assholes. Posted by: oh my on March 12, 2010 at 9:32 AM | PERMALINKSorry to be cynical but it's also a way to fail all at once. If you're going to drown your children in the lake no one's going to say much about the kittens in the trunk. Here are the rules, according to republicans: Using majority rule for evil? Good! Using majority rule for good? Evil! Posted by: Hank on March 12, 2010 at 9:34 AM | PERMALINKThere is a whole god damn convoy of sunshine, bluebirds, fresh clean laundry, apple pie, and first love promised by Obama and the Dims... health care reform great catalogue; fine staff of customer service yakkers... one could begin to think it is all a front... one big scam so far, folks, no sausages coming out the end of the sausage-making machine... Lobbyists don't have a vote. What the student loan fight is about is whether banks can skim money off the top of every student loan even though they take no risk at all (the government guarantees the loans), and it's cheaper to just cut out the middle man. The task of administering the paperwork would still be contracted out to the banks, so few jobs would be lost. on top of the pressure from health insurance lobbyists. What pressure from health insurance lobbyists? They want the bill passed. They have the individual mandate and there is no PO, no Medicare buy-in, and dozens of loopholes. Hint: Insurance companies do not jack up rates around the country right when the legislation is on the precipice of being passed in order to kill HCR. Posted by: square1 on March 12, 2010 at 10:58 AM | PERMALINKOn the merits, I think this is great. The student-loan system is yet another banking scam that siphons our money for no legitimate purpose. But when it comes to Democrats, the proof is in the pudding. For all I know, this is a just a pathetic attempt to have something positive to show for the mid-term elections. Lord knows, the Dems are the masters of the hollow promise. "Boy, we really wanted to pass student loan reform with health care reform, but gosh if we just didn't have the votes." Posted by: square1 on March 12, 2010 at 11:03 AM | PERMALINKI wonder if anyone has correlated the rise in college tuition with the rise in federal college loans and other tuition aid packages. It's quite easy to raise rates when students can get their hands on financial aid. It's not quite as easy when they can't. So if SAFRA passes, what will happen to the budget when Pell Grants are counted as entitlements? Oh yeah, the SAFRA savings is in the toilet. In fact, the whole program is in the red. Don't kill the messenger. CBO said as much. Posted by: Tutter on March 12, 2010 at 11:17 AM | PERMALINKLobbyists don't have a vote. What the student loan fight is about is whether banks can skim money off the top of every student loan even though they take no risk at all (the government guarantees the loans) Same could be said with a big chunk of our mortgage industry, thanks to Fannie/Freddie. Shall we nationalize the mortgage industry as well? You don't want to see the budget deficit with the amount of toxic, underwater loans that the US gov't has guaranteed under Fannie/Freddie. Posted by: Tutter on March 12, 2010 at 11:20 AM | PERMALINK
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