Let’s Tell the Bush-McCain Crowd To Stop Blocking College Aid Programs

THE POLITICS

Over the next few weeks, the problem of paying for a college education will be particularly newsworthy for two reasons: (1) As students graduate, high school seniors and their parents will face the anguish of paying for college while college seniors will face the agony of student debt. (2) The U.S. House and Senate recently passed legislation to pay college tuition for recent military veterans—legislation that John McCain opposed and President Bush is threatening to veto.

Progressives need to put these stories in context—that Bush and his conservative allies have fought for years to squelch direct federal assistance to college students. Let’s remind the media, bloggers, and local activists where conservative policy has taken us and explain the progressive alternatives.

THE ISSUE

College costs have risen dramatically during the Bush Administration. Tuition and fees at a public four-year college have increased from $3,500 to nearly $6,200 since Bush took office—an increase of 46 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. Tuition at private colleges also became more expensive, increasing on average from $16,000 in 2000-01 to $23,700 in 2007-08.

At least two-thirds of college students graduate with some debt; the average debt among graduates exceeds $19,000. One-fourth of all students borrow $25,000 or more. These statistics were last published by the U.S. Department of Education in 2004, so they understate current student debt.

With McCain’s support, Bush and the Republican Congress enacted the largest cuts to federal student aid in history. In 2006, they cut $12.7 billion from student loan programs. The law also imposed higher fees on students and increased the interest rate on loans to parents. When Democrats recovered Congress the following year, they passed the College Cost Reduction Act which restored funding cuts, lowered interest rates on subsidized student loans by half over five years, increased Pell Grants, and banned unscrupulous tactics by private student loan companies.

Under Bush, direct federal aid to college students declined while subsidies for private student loan companies skyrocketed. While Republicans controlled both the White House and Congress, federal funding for Pell Grants and Direct Student Loans remained flat, while federal work study funds and Byrd Honors Scholarships declined. Conversely, funding for the Family Education Loan Program, a program which subsidizes private student loan companies, more than doubled from $25 billion in 2001 to $51 billion in 2007.

Once again, Bush, McCain, and conservatives in Congress are blocking federal student aid by opposing the new G.I. Bill of Rights. On May 22, the U.S. Senate voted 75 to 22 to enact a new G.I. Bill of Rights that would pay tuition and other expenses at a four-year university for veterans who served in the military for at least three years since 9/11. The U.S. House passed similar legislation by a vote of 256 to 156. Even though the G.I. Bill is attached to a military funding measure, McCain opposes it and Bush has threatened to veto it.

THE ARGUMENT

Bush, McCain, and the majority of Republicans in Congress have fought against federal aid to college students all along:

Bush and McCain oppose the new G.I. Bill passed by Congress which would fund college tuition for vets of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. McCain missed the vote in order to attend a fundraiser, but he made his opposition clear. (Both Senators Clinton and Obama cast votes for the new G.I. Bill.) The Bush-McCain position contradicts their “support our troops” rhetoric. But it is consistent with their efforts to starve a wide range of college aid programs.

Bush, McCain, and the Republican Congress slashed student aid programs. Bush promoted and McCain supported the largest cut to federal student aid in history. During “the raid on student aid,” the last Republican Congress slashed $12.7 billion from student loan programs. Aid was restored and enhanced only after Democrats took over Congress in 2007.

The right-wing attack on student aid programs has been motivated by ideology and fueled by entrenched corporate lobbies. Bush and conservatives in Congress broke promises to increase Pell Grants, forcing students to take on more student debt. Then they squeezed the federal direct student loan program, forcing students to borrow at higher interest rates from private lenders.

THE PROGRESSIVE SOLUTION

Congress should focus on expanding the federal direct student loan program. Compared to federal subsidization of the private loan industry, the federal direct student loan program provides lower interest rates to students and saves taxpayers millions of dollars. Need-based student aid, such as Pell Grants, should also be increased so that all qualified students have access to the American Dream.