Students who oppose a federal measure passed last week that could cut nearly $15 billion from higher education funding are stepping up efforts against it because they say it impedes students’ ability to afford degrees.

Student groups including the College Democrats and the Maryland Public Interest Research Group hope to sway Maryland’s federal legislators to reject the measures. They join larger national student advocacy groups such as the Association of American Universities and the United States Student Association in lobbying against the bill.

At a panel discussion Monday, Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer and Ben Cardin denounced the measure to about 40 students and pledged to vote against it when it appears before the U.S. House of Representatives this month for a vote.

The bill reroutes nearly $15 billion in funding from banks and private companies that provide loans to students. The money will go toward hurricane relief to lower taxes and to pay down the national deficit. Alliance with the bill falls roughly along party lines.

Although many on both side of the issue think the money to banks should be reduced because it exceeds what they need to distribute loans, many Democrats oppose the bill because they say the money should cycle back to student aid programs. Many Republicans support the measure because they say the reduced taxes benefit students.

The bill also raises the amount students may borrow, which many on both sides of the debate say is a positive change for students.

Lee Fang, a sophomore government and politics major and president of the College Democrats, said the group is partnering with MaryPIRG to concentrate on lobbying Republican Reps. Wayne Gilchrest and Roscoe Bartlett. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, the group will offer cell phones and scripts for students to call the representatives’ offices to voice their opinions. They will also display trash bags labeled with “higher education.”

Fang said calls are one of the most effective lobbying techniques to entice busy students.

“Imagine if the congressman doesn’t get any calls about it or doesn’t hear about it from any of his constituents, or if his staff doesn’t hear about it. If he’s unsure of how to vote, this may help him decide,” Fang said.

John McBride, a sophomore business major and board member of MaryPIRG, said the issue is an especially personal one since he receives federal student aid in the form of a Stafford loan.

“It’s real,” he said. “I feel a lot of my friends didn’t get a chance to come because their parents couldn’t afford it.”

He said MaryPIRG is in the process of contacting student organizations at other state system schools including Salisbury and Morgan State universities.

David Fenwick, a junior sociology and economics major who was at the panel Monday, said he pays for school with a combination of private loans and a job as a resident assistant in South Campus Commons because he does not qualify for federal loans.

“I had a conversation with my mom last night,” he said. “She’s busting her butt. She said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just keep your head in the books.’ Every month she’s moving money around and she just spoke with our financial advisor.”

Contact reporter Kate Campbell at campbelldbk@gmail.com.