Fie, fie oh you Democrats! The first woman speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has pulled off a “100-hour” flurry of legislation, engineered largely for the purposes of “sound-bite politics,” in the same vein as Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America and Bill Clinton’s, well, entire presidency.
But there’s a difference between making laws that sound good and making ones that are good for our nation. Already, the Democratic Party is in danger of ceding the higher ground in the area of higher education. The incompetence of Democrats at pretty much anything is legendary, and it would be a horrible shame for them to waste their hard-earned majority.
In an awkward and superficial move, House Democrats passed a bill last week that will cut student interest rates on Stafford Loans in half. The typical graduate of the university would be saving about $30 per month while paying back student loans, hardly life-changing.
Even worse, since Pelosi and Co. have done such a good job publicizing the bill, many colleges could use this perceived influx of student aid to justify raising tuition and other expenses, the exact opposite of what Congress should be trying to achieve.
The White House has threatened to veto the bill because it directs aid to college graduates instead of low-income students who struggle to meet educational expenses, and, difficult as it is to admit, the party of President Bush has a point. The Republicans’ point attacks the principal, instead of the interest, on student debt and addresses the neediest as well.
What good is it for Democrats to run as the Robin Hood of America, only to turn around to try to push through flawed policy? Fortunately, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) (Don’t wince! I can see you), has a comprehensive bill that will increase grants to the neediest students from $4,050 per year to $5,100.
Unlike slowly chipping away at interest payments when the damage is already well past done, attacks on the debt itself for a low-income student could be the key factor in the decision to continue an education. By commuting or being a resident assistant (like all the other cool kids), low-income students could graduate from the university without being saddled with any debt.
Kennedy’s bill encourages students to enter public service (often snubbed as “low-paying”) by capping loan payments at 15 percent of a person’s discretionary income and forgiving loans for those who stay in the public sector. Colleges are also encouraged to participate in the Direct Loan Program, where students take loans directly from the government instead of third-party for-profit companies.
This would allow the government to recoup some of the cost of expensive education legislation and give students more flexible payment options. Currently, most colleges in the country, including this university, do not participate in the Direct Loan Program and have little incentive to sign up for it.
So why hasn’t anyone heard about this? Perhaps it’s because Kennedy has traveled a bit beyond his handsome days. Perhaps it’s because the media are not good at math or reading between the lines.
But Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the other Democratic powerhouses need to take note of what is just good legislation. They have already shown their ability to use the media – it’s time for them to use their skills to best benefit the country. Glitz and glam ain’t worth a damn if there’s nothing underneath.
Benjamin Johnson is a senior physics major. He can be reached at katsuo@umd.edu.
