2008 Woodie Awards
Political Maneuvering on Student Loans
Doug Lederman/InsideHigherEd.com
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: News
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With the 110th Congress preparing to vote Jan. 17 on its first significant piece of higher education legislation, Washington crackled the day before with vintage, and in some ways predictable, politicking. But much of it had a through-the-looking-glass feel to it.
First, you had Democrats in the House of Representatives scrambling to explain away a perceived flaw in their proposal to halve the interest rate on federally subsidized loans for undergraduate borrowers within five years.
As critics (read: lenders) noted that the legislation (H.R. 5), as written, would let the interest rate zoom back up to the current 6.8 percent in January 2012, after just six months at the low of 3.4 percent, Democratic staffers explained that budget rules and fiscal realities required that compromise.
They also said they fully expected to find money in the intervening years to make the cut permanent.
Student-aid lobbyists generally gave them the benefit of the doubt, though some said they had been misled, or at least underinformed, about the legislation's particulars.
As the Democrats struggled with the newly rediscovered challenges of governing, Republicans found themselves in the equally unaccustomed role of loyal opposition.
Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Calif.), now the senior Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, complained about the Democrats' plan to bring the student loan bill to the House floor without first seeking the approval of the education panel, which McKeon headed just 30 days ago but on which he is now second fiddle. McKeon described the legislation as "well-intentioned" but "badly flawed."
He said he hoped Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who is running the committee now that Democrats control the House, would see fit to amend the bill with legislation that McKeon introduced Tuesday, which would put in place many of the disclosure requirements and other measures aimed at controlling college prices that Republicans tried to incorporate into a measure to extend the Higher Education Act that passed the House last year but ultimately stalled.
First, you had Democrats in the House of Representatives scrambling to explain away a perceived flaw in their proposal to halve the interest rate on federally subsidized loans for undergraduate borrowers within five years.
As critics (read: lenders) noted that the legislation (H.R. 5), as written, would let the interest rate zoom back up to the current 6.8 percent in January 2012, after just six months at the low of 3.4 percent, Democratic staffers explained that budget rules and fiscal realities required that compromise.
They also said they fully expected to find money in the intervening years to make the cut permanent.
Student-aid lobbyists generally gave them the benefit of the doubt, though some said they had been misled, or at least underinformed, about the legislation's particulars.
As the Democrats struggled with the newly rediscovered challenges of governing, Republicans found themselves in the equally unaccustomed role of loyal opposition.
Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Calif.), now the senior Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, complained about the Democrats' plan to bring the student loan bill to the House floor without first seeking the approval of the education panel, which McKeon headed just 30 days ago but on which he is now second fiddle. McKeon described the legislation as "well-intentioned" but "badly flawed."
He said he hoped Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who is running the committee now that Democrats control the House, would see fit to amend the bill with legislation that McKeon introduced Tuesday, which would put in place many of the disclosure requirements and other measures aimed at controlling college prices that Republicans tried to incorporate into a measure to extend the Higher Education Act that passed the House last year but ultimately stalled.
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