Archive for March, 2010:
“Two major victories in one week that will improve the lives of our people for generations to come”
President Obama signed legislation yesterday that improves upon the health reform bill passed last week and makes new investments in higher education while reforming the student loan system.
New York Times - Obama Signs Overhaul of Student Loan Program
President Obama signed legislation on Tuesday to expand college access for millions of young Americans by revamping the federal student loan program in what he called “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill.”
Mr. Obama went to a community college where the wife of his vice president teaches to draw attention to the student loan overhaul attached to the final piece of health care legislation that passed last week. In signing the bill, Mr. Obama put the final touches on his health care program but used the occasion to highlight the education provisions.
...Mr. Obama portrayed the overhaul of the student loan program as a triumph over an “army of lobbyists,” singling out Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest student lender, which he said spent $3 million on lobbying to stop the changes. “For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks,” he said. The money, he said, “was spent padding student lenders’ pockets.”
College News - Obama signs student loan reform bill
College students plagued by a lagging job market and the prospect of debt received some good news on Tuesday. According to the New York Times, President Obama traveled to Northern Virginia Community College to sign into law a student loan reform bill. The reason that Northern Virginia Community College visit is a big f***ing deal is not just because of the historic legislation (which, according to the Times, Obama described as “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill."), but because, as you may have inferred by the Biden-esque phrasing, Northern Virginia is where Jill Biden teaches English.
Two decades ago, about 40 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 30 graduated from college. Today, the rate remains the same here while increasing in countries around the world. America, once the global leader in higher education, seems to be stuck in neutral.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama pledged to jump-start the country's lethargic educational progress and achieve his stated goal of having America boast the world's highest proportion of college graduates by 2020. Surrounded by students at Northern Virginia Community College, the president took what administration officials describe as a major step in that direction by signing into law the Student Aid and Financial Reconciliation Act.
“Two major victories in one week that will improve the lives of our people for generations to come”
President Obama signed legislation yesterday that improves upon the health reform bill passed last week and makes new investments in higher education while reforming the student loan system.
New York Times - Obama Signs Overhaul of Student Loan Program
President Obama signed legislation on Tuesday to expand college access for millions of young Americans by revamping the federal student loan program in what he called “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill.”
Mr. Obama went to a community college where the wife of his vice president teaches to draw attention to the student loan overhaul attached to the final piece of health care legislation that passed last week. In signing the bill, Mr. Obama put the final touches on his health care program but used the occasion to highlight the education provisions.
...Mr. Obama portrayed the overhaul of the student loan program as a triumph over an “army of lobbyists,” singling out Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest student lender, which he said spent $3 million on lobbying to stop the changes. “For almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks,” he said. The money, he said, “was spent padding student lenders’ pockets.”
College News - Obama signs student loan reform bill
College students plagued by a lagging job market and the prospect of debt received some good news on Tuesday. According to the New York Times, President Obama traveled to Northern Virginia Community College to sign into law a student loan reform bill. The reason that Northern Virginia Community College visit is a big f***ing deal is not just because of the historic legislation (which, according to the Times, Obama described as “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I. Bill."), but because, as you may have inferred by the Biden-esque phrasing, Northern Virginia is where Jill Biden teaches English.
Two decades ago, about 40 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 to 30 graduated from college. Today, the rate remains the same here while increasing in countries around the world. America, once the global leader in higher education, seems to be stuck in neutral.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama pledged to jump-start the country's lethargic educational progress and achieve his stated goal of having America boast the world's highest proportion of college graduates by 2020. Surrounded by students at Northern Virginia Community College, the president took what administration officials describe as a major step in that direction by signing into law the Student Aid and Financial Reconciliation Act.
President Obama Signs Student Loan Reform: ‘A great battle pitting the interests of the banks and financial institutions against the interests of students has finally come to an end.’
Since President Obama was sworn into office, he has worked to lay a new foundation for the economy by focusing on health care and education. Last week's signing of historic health reform was a huge step forward -- and today, the President signed legislation that improves on last week's bill as well as investing in higher education and bringing meaningful reform to our student loan system.
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act signed today makes a number of key investments in higher education, while at the same time putting an end to a system that used taxpayer money to subsidize private bank loans to students. It reinvests those $68 billion in savings toward making college more affordable, as well as reducing the deficit.
Speaking at the Northern Virginia Community College this morning, President Obama explained how this helps students by ending subsidies for private lenders:
“What’s gotten overlooked amid all the hoopla, all the drama of last week, is what happened in education -- when a great battle pitting the interests of the banks and financial institutions against the interests of students finally came to an end.
You see, for almost two decades, we’ve been trying to fix a sweetheart deal in federal law that essentially gave billions of dollars to banks to act as unnecessary middlemen in administering student loans. So those are billions of dollars that could have been spent helping more of our students attend and complete college; that could have been spent advancing the dreams of our children; that could have been spent easing the burden of tuition on middle-class families. Instead, that money was spent padding student lenders’ profits.
Now, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that the big banks and financial institutions hired a army of lobbyists to protect the status quo. In fact, Sallie Mae, America’s biggest student lender, spent more than $3 million on lobbying last year alone.
...By cutting out the middleman, we’ll save American taxpayers $68 billion in the coming years -- $68 billion. That’s real money -- real savings that we’ll reinvest to help improve the quality of higher education and make it more affordable.”
Here are some of the highlights of what the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act will do to help students and families:
- Double funding for Pell Grants since President Obama took office, to ensure that all eligible students receive an award, and that grants keep pace with the rising cost of college
- Invest in community colleges to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates over the next decade
- Increase support for historically black colleges and universities and minority serving-institutions, which have been particularly hard hit by some of the challenges facing all universities, and account for nearly sixty percent of the 4.7 million minority undergraduates in our country.
- Ease loan repayment by capping student loan payments at 10 percent of a graduate's discretionary income, with any remaining balance forgiven after 20 years. And those who go into public service after graduation can have their loans forgiven after 10 years.
- End government subsidies given to financial institutions that make student loans, switching to direct loans. This saves nearly $68 billion for college affordability.
In his remarks this morning, President Obama also asked Dr. Jill Biden, a longtime educator and professor at Northern Virginia Community College, to host a summit on community colleges at the White House this fall. The summit will bring together a range of students, educators, and experts to come up with solutions to help students earn degrees and credentials, forge private sector partnerships, and better prepare America's workforce.
Dr. Biden recorded a video on how the bill will help students and their families:
Listen Live at 11:05 a.m. ET: Making College More Affordable While Ending Giveaways for Private Banks
"We shouldn't be providing billions in taxpayer-funded giveaways to private banks; we should be providing an affordable, accessible college education to every American." -- President Obama
In today's economy, a high-quality college education has become more critical than ever -- but increasingly, students and families are struggling to afford rising costs, and remaining burdened with student loans for years after graduation day.
One of President Obama's top priorities is providing an affordable, accessible college education for every American -- and this morning at Northern Virginia Community College, he will sign into law a down payment on that promise. In addition to strengthening the health reform bill signed last week, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act doubles funding for Pell Grants, will cap a graduate's annual loan repayments at 10 percent of income, and invests in community colleges to help an additional 5 million Americans earn degrees and certificates over the next decade. These initiatives are fully paid for by ending subsidies to banks and private lending companies, and will reduce the federal deficit over the next 11 years.
You can listen to the President's remarks at the signing ceremony live at 11:05 a.m. Eastern Time here or at WhiteHouse.gov/live. The President will be introduced by Dr. Jill Biden, a longtime educator and professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
President Obama on GOP Promises to Repeal Health Reform: “Go for it.”
Before President Obama had even signed historic health reform into law, Republicans began promising to repeal it as part of their campaigns this year.
Speaking in Iowa last week, President Obama challenged them to "go for it," arguing that Americans don't want to move backward on the progress that's been made.
President Obama:
This is the reform that some folks in Washington are still hollering about, still shouting about. Now that they passed it -- now that we passed it, they’re already promising to repeal it. They’re actually going to run on a platform of repeal in November. You’ve been hearing that. And my attitude is: Go for it.
If these congressmen in Washington want to come here in Iowa and tell small business owners that they plan to take away their tax credits and essentially raise their taxes, be my guest. If they want to look Lauren Gallagher in the eye and tell her they plan to take away her father’s health insurance, that’s their right. If they want to make Darlyne Neff pay more money for her check-ups, her mammograms, they can run on that platform. If this young man out here thinks this is a bad bill, he can run to repeal it. If they want to have that fight, we can have it. Because I don’t believe that the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver’s seat. We’ve already been there. We're not going back. This country is moving forward.
Celebrate with OFA
From OFA Deputy Director Jeremy Bird:
This past week, we saw what change looks like. And now, it's time to celebrate.
After a year of non-stop work from OFA volunteers like you -- reaching out to friends and neighbors; going to countless phone banks, town halls, canvasses, and rallies; placing millions of calls and emails to Congress; and so much more -- health care reform is now the law of the land.
Congratulations on making history -- and thank you!
To celebrate the biggest legislative accomplishment in generations, OFA is holding health reform celebration events across the country -- can you join one, or sign up to host an event if there isn't one near you?
OFA volunteers and staff will get together to talk about what we just did, and we'll watch a video that some folks here are finishing up now.
We've all worked hard, and there's more hard work to do. But sometimes, we all deserve a moment to just kick back, enjoy what we've accomplished, and appreciate the people we accomplished it with.
I hope you can join us. Find and RSVP for a celebration event here:
http://my.barackobama.com/CelebrationEvents
This was a long, hard fight. Thanks for being there to the finish, and for making it happen.
Jeremy
Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America
P.S. -- If there aren't any events in your area that you can make it to, please consider hosting one of your own. It's an easy process, and we've put together a host guide that will walk you through each step:
http://my.barackobama.com/CelebrationEvents
A Major Reform for Student Loans
"Year after year, we’ve seen billions of taxpayer dollars handed out as subsidies to the bankers and middlemen who handle federal student loans, when that money should have gone to advancing the dreams of our students and working families. And yet attempts to fix this problem and reform this program were thwarted by special interests that fought tooth and nail to preserve their exclusive giveaway.
But this time, we said, would be different. We said we’d stand up to the special interests, and stand up for the interests of students and families. That’s what happened this week."—President Obama
Congress Approves Final Changes to Health Reform
Last night, the House of Representatives passed a final health insurance reform bill by a vote of 220 to 207, bringing a year-long legislative process to an end. The bill makes final improvements to the historic health reform President Obama signed into law on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
The end came after a grueling night and day of roll-call votes as Republicans sought to derail the bill.
House Democrats approved the same package Thursday evening, 220 to 207, formally concluding the tortuous 14-month drive to move major healthcare legislation through Congress for the first time since Medicare's creation in 1965.
"Franklin Roosevelt identified four freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom from want, and freedom from fear," said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), one of the architects of the healthcare overhaul.
"Today in many ways we are fulfilling that last of the great freedoms, the fear that you or your family could suffer a healthcare crisis."
As with Sunday's vote in the House, no Republican representatives voted for the bill. The bill now goes to the President to be signed into law.
Reform Under Attack
From OFA Director Mitch Stewart:
We knew that power concedes nothing. So did President Obama. So did the members of Congress who courageously voted for reform, knowing that the special interests and the extreme right wing would retaliate swiftly.
The attacks are fierce. Deceptive ads are hitting the airwaves in swing districts. GOP lawmakers are pushing to repeal reform -- and preventing the Senate from performing basic functions. A few Republican attorneys general have launched a baseless attack to overturn the legislation. But that's not even the worst of it.
A conservative blogger posted the home address of Congressman Tom Perriello, urging tea partiers to "drop by." Other members have had death threats. Democratic offices have been vandalized.
Can you chip in $25 or more to defend health reform -- and those in Congress who fought to make it possible?
Showing support for reform and those who fought for it is our number one priority right now. We're going all-out, organizing grassroots events around the country, running supportive ads on the air, and making sure that every American knows the truth about the historic legislation that representatives voted into law.
Members of Congress know that reform would not have passed without all of your incredible work. But we also know that it would not have passed without their courage.
Together, along with President Obama, we beat the insurance companies and brought affordable coverage to 32 million without it, reduced costs for families and small businesses, and created the toughest patient protections in history.
A few weeks ago, we made a simple promise to these representatives: You fight for health reform, we'll fight for you. It's time to hold up our end of the deal. Please donate $25 or more.
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
