How The DCCC Is Making Hay Of The GOP Vote To Force Up The Student Loan Rate Against Vulnerable Congressmen

Last week, the House passed John Kline's dreadful Make College Less Affordable Act, 221-198. Although only 4 conservative Democrats crossed the aisle to vote with the Republicans, 3 of the four are viewed as extremely vulnerable and are top priorities for the DCCC bad Democrat retention operation. The 4 anti-student voters were all corporately-controled New Dems, of course:

• Jared Polis (CO)
• Scott Peters (CA)
• Joe Garcia (FL)
• Dan Maffei (NY)

Polis, the richest Democrat in the House-- and in a solidly blue district-- can probably get away with almost anything and he isn't on anyone's list. He won reelection last year 56-39% and Obama took CO-02 with 57.9% to Romney's weak 39.5%. Ironically, the Democratic heartland of the district is Boulder, home to the University of Colorado, which boats 30,000 students. And Polis ran up a gigantic lead in Boulder County-- 90,448 (73%) to 26,775 (22%) for Republican Kevin Lundberg. The Republicans would need a lot of imagination to target Polis for his vote-- along with all 4 of the state's Republicans, right-wing extremists Mike Coffman, Doug Lamborn, Cory Gardner and Scott Tipton-- against reducing the interest on student loans. I guess they could make the point that the super-wealthy shouldn't be representing ordinary people because they can't usually too sharply beyond their own piles of gold and silver. But, like I said, it isn't Polis anyone is worried about. It's conservative freshman Scott Peters (San Diego), Joe Garcia (Miami) and Dan Maffei (Syracuse) who they have to worry about. Each has been voting too far right for their Democratic bases. Maffei's district is also college student heavy and he depended on college students to help him defeat crazy teabagger Ann Marie Buerkle last November. Peters, another multimillionaire incapable of representing the aspirations and dreams of ordinary working families, has plenty of college students in his district and so does Miami.

Of course none of this has stopped the DCCC from going right after the Republicans they view as among the most vulnerable-- for doing exactly what they'll have to defend Maffei, Garcia and Peters for. Over the weekend, media in Santa Clarita, Simi Valley and the Antelope Valley got this press release in regard to Buck McKeon's vote for higher student loan rates. It's reminiscent of the Buck McKen Hates Students Facebook page from last year, when he voted to take away health insurance from college students:

VOTE ALERT: Congressman McKeon Supports ‘Students Pay More Act’

Congressman Buck McKeon just joined House Republicans to approve the “Students Pay More Act,” a measure to force college students to pay more interest for their education loans. With the average college student shouldering $26,000 in debt, the Associated Press this week described how “student loan rates could steadily climb and cost students more over the long haul under the plan House Republicans are considering.”

While Congressman McKeon voted today to make student loans more expensive, he and Republicans refuse to end taxpayer subsidies to Big Oil companies that are already making record profits.

“Congressman McKeon voted today to make student loans more expensive, but heaven forbid that oil companies’ subsidies end,” said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Instead of solving the problem of loan rates that will double at the end of the month, Congressman McKeon and House Republicans are putting a bigger burden on the backs of future students. The simple fact is that Congressman McKeon and House Republicans would rather force students to pay more than ask oil companies to pay their fair share-- and those are the wrong priorities.”

BACKGROUND

Congressman Buck McKeon Voted To Raise Student Loans by 8.5 Percent. [H.R. 1911, Vote #183, 5/23/13]

AP: House Republican Plan Would Raise Student Loan Interest Rates Up to 8.5 Percent. According to the Associated Press: “Under the GOP proposal, student loans would be reset every year and based on 10-year Treasury notes, plus an added percentage. For instance, students who receive subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford student loans would pay the Treasury rate, plus 2.5 percentage points. Using Congressional Budget Office projections, that would translate to a 5 percent interest rate on Stafford loans in 2014, but the rate would climb to 7.7 percent for loans in 2023. Stafford loan rates would be capped at 8.5 percent, while loans for parents and graduate students would have a 10.5 percent ceiling under the GOP proposal.” [Associated Press, 5/16/13]

  • Headline: Republicans move forward with student loan plan that could mean higher rates later [Associated Press, 5/16/13]

Under the “Students Pay More” Act, Graduates Would Pay Almost $5,000 More in Student Loan Interest. The Associated Press reported: “In real dollars, the GOP plan would cost students and families heavily, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. The office used the CBO projections for Treasury notes’ interest rates each year. Students who max out their subsidized Stafford loans over four years would pay $8,331 in interest payments under the Republican bill, and $3,450 if rates were kept at 3.4 percent. If rates were allowed to double in July, that amount would be $7,284 over the typical 10-year window to repay the maximum $19,000.” If the Republican plan were implemented, college graduates would pay $4,881 more in interest, compared to the current rate. [Associated Press, 5/16/13]

The Average College Graduate Has $26,600 in Student Loan Debt; Total National Student Loan Debt Exceeds $1.1 Trillion. According to the Washington Post: “A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates that there 38 million student loan borrowers in the United States and the total debt load has passed $1.1 trillion. The Project on Student Debt has estimated that 66 percent of graduating college seniors in 2011 had some student loan debt, with an average balance of $26,600.” [Washington Post, 5/20/13]

CBO: Federal Government Turns $51 Billion Profit on Student Loans. According to the Huffington Post: “The Obama administration is forecast to turn a record $51 billion profit this year from student loan borrowers, a sum greater than the earnings of the nation's most profitable companies and roughly equal to the combined net income of the four largest U.S. banks by assets. Figures made public Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office show that the nonpartisan agency increased its 2013 fiscal year profit forecast for the Department of Education by 43 percent to $50.6 billion from its February estimate of $35.5 billion.” [Huffington Post, 5/14/13]

AND BACHMANN

I guess you heard by now that Michele Bachmann, under investigation by the FBI for serious financial shenanigans involving campaign funds and a coverup (and brand new to term limits fandom), has decided to not run for reelection. This endless and excruciating ad below is like nothing I've ever seen before (except as part of a Saturday Night Live skit):