Student Loans
College costs are growing rapidly and financial aid hasn’t kept up. Close to 70 percent of undergrads graduate with debt. In 2009, the average student borrower owed $27,600. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) of 2010 ensures that all federally funded student loans will be directed through the federal government’s Direct Loan Program (DLP,) saving $61 billion and using that money to fund increased Pell Grant funding. SAFRA abolished the Federal Education Loan Program (FFELP), which used subsidized loan companies to provide student loans.
Cry Wolf Quotes
We’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community. At a time when jobs are so scarce here and around the country, we hope that this petition delivers 31,000 more reasons to support student loan reform that will make college more affordable and protect jobs here in Wilkes-Barre.
Legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, however, would require all federal student loans to be originated by the federal government, jeopardizing hundreds of private sector jobs in Wilkes-Barre and hampering related economic development in the state. Sallie Mae currently contributes more than $40 million annually to the local economy and has contributed millions to local charities.
Gone will be the days when students and their colleges picked the lender that best fit their needs; instead, a federal bureaucrat will make that choice for every student in America based on still-unclear guidelines.
As the national struggle to deal with a severe economic crisis and a national unemployment rate of 8.1 percent — the highest level since 1983 — it is a critical time to reinforce successful solutions, not abandon them. Ensuring the continuation of thousands of jobs for individuals singularly focused on helping millions of students enter and succeed in higher education is a “win-win” in today’s deeply stressed economy. It preserves jobs for the workers of today, while guaranteeing access to aid to millions of students whose skills will help maintain the nation’s pre-eminent place in the global economy.
Related Laws and Rules
Evidence
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5 Myths About Student Loan Reform
Campus Progress: Almost all of the student loan industry's warning about SAFRA were wrong.
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Are Student Loan Companies Playing Politics With People’s Jobs
The definitive refutation of “job killer” cry wolf claims regarding SAFRA.
Resources
Campus Progress is the youth wing of the Center for American Progress. They do work in both advocacy and journalism.
Higher Education Watch is the New America Foundation's blog about the politics and policy of higher education.
