I’ll admit, for a minute there last Sunday, March 21^st I was glued to CSPAN. It was the health care debate (and I’m using the word “debate” liberally—it was more like a verbal joust, with dems and reps haranguing insults at one another and the speaker having to cut pretty much everyone off).

The last time I was glued to CSPAN, David Banner and Master P were testifying to congress about stereotypes in hip hop. I wouldn’t make that up.

While nothing entirely tangible came from Mr. Banner’s and Mr. P’s testimonies, we got something awesome out of this more recent debate. You guessed it, a more comprehensive health care plan!

And little known to students everywhere—SAFRA was tucked away all nice and warm in the recent passage of this historic health care reform.

Education Week writes a fantastic wrap-up of everything the House vote approved last Sunday, but here are the basics:

“The bill rewrites a four-decades-old student loan program, eliminating its reliance on private lenders and uses the savings to direct $36 billion in new spending to Pell Grants for students in financial need.

… the bill would also provide more than $4 billion to historically black colleges and community colleges.

‘By moving to the federal government’s direct loan program, we will put the best interests of students first and make college loans more reliable and affordable,’ said Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, the chairman of a House higher education subcommittee.”

This week the Senate will vote to approve this same bill, but because it has been fast-tracked with health care, will only need 51 votes to be approved.

Looks like lower interest rates for student loans is on the horizon! Well done, Washington D.C.

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It’s happening—again. We’re talking about getting more fiscally responsible with student aid. The House passed SAFRA last September and now it’s up for action again. This week. This time around the bill looks a lot different, but if it makes it through this reconciliation process in a timely manner, it could be pushed through along with health care reform!

Currently in our country, you can apply for federal student loans to help pay for college—and the government will dole out the dough if you are eligible. However, these loans can come at a big price if you’ve got 4 years worth of debt and a crazy-high interest rate. With our old plan, the Federal Family Education Loan Program, one bank and one bank only got to distribute the loans (and subsequently, set the interest rates for repayment). Her name was Sallie Mae.

SAFRA says no to Sallie, in a big way. If the Senate is to pass this act, the government would take control over the lending rates and eliminate the third (private) party… saving us $68 billion dollars that will then be reinvested back into public education via the Pell Grant program.

Sounds like a win-win situation for everyone except the Sallie Mae Foundation, who have been profiting off of student debt for far too long.

Show your support for SAFRA. Sign this petition put together by Senator Patty Murray.

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Watch as UWers participate in the March 4th National Day of Action. Students across the country are protesting the privatization of public institutions of higher education, demanding affordable tuition and fair treatment of university workers. For more information, check out the UW’s Anti-Budget Cuts (ABC) coalition’s blog site here.

hey hey! ho ho! budget cuts have got to go!

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State lawmakers are considering budget cuts that will impact thousands of college and university students across the state. LEV, the Washington Student Association and the Washington Bus are working together to urge parents and students to contact their legislators.

Watch the video of two UW students, Ashwaq and Colette, as they share their struggles with college affordability and then contact your lawmakers to urge them to protect funding for higher education. Please tell them how you, your friends, your kids and your relatives rely on Washington’s State Need Grants and/or Work Study programs in order to attend and complete college.

You may have heard that tomorrow is a national day of action on college campuses across the country. Look for rallies on the UW, Western Washington, Evergreen State College, and Seattle Community college campuses!

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It’s March 2^nd. There are 10 days left in Washington’s 2010 legislative session. Guess what that means? It’s CRUNCH TIME, still. Just like yesterday. This week in Oly, legislators are tackling some big issues related to our state’s budget deficit (refresher, we’re 2.8 billion dollars in the hole). Plenty of programs have been proposed for cuts—and too many of these programs hurt the pockets of students.

One (of several) programs that are at-risk this session is Work Study. These are part-time jobs for students on campus which help the university fill necessary positions, help the student earn some extra cash, and help our economy by graduating students with real work experience.

Governor Gregoire has proposed to cut Washington’s ENTIRE work study program. Both the Senate and House have proposed to cut this vital program by at least $7.4 million dollars.

Here’s why Washington can’t afford to cut work study:

Work study programs provide part-time jobs to 9,400 students across the state, at 55 different campuses

For these 9,400 students, their annual earnings make up about 15% of their average financial aid package.

Work study jobs, on average, help fund $3,000-4,000 dollars of tuition per student, per year.

Can you imagine what it would take to make up for that missing money? If you think Work Study is as vital a program as we do, e-mail your legislators today and tell them to FULLY FUND Washington’s Work Study program. Let’s see some new revenue, too!

Speaker of the House:

Frank Chopp: chopp.frank@leg.wa.gov

Senate Ways and Means Committee Leadership (who delegate the ca$h)

Margarita Prentice: prentice.margarita@leg.wa.gov

Rodney Tom: tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov

Karen Fraser: fraser.karen@leg.wa.gov

House Ways and Means Committee Leadership

Kelli Linville: linville.kelli@leg.wa.gov

Mark Ericks: ericks.mark@leg.wa.gov

Pat Sullivan: sullivan.pat@leg.wa.gov

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Washington State Legislature is in the final stretch! It’s been a tough session so far, with lots of proposed cuts to crucial education programs. It’s crunch time now, our legislators and leadership need to hear from us now more than ever.

About what, you say? State Need-Based Grants. thasswassup.

The House has proposed to cut Washington’s need-based grants by $6 million. The Senate has committed to keeping them, but has made funding for these grants contingent on Washington passing new sales taxes. These are small taxes on consumer goods which are likely to fail because they are unpopular. This is unacceptable. Washington’s legislators MUST prioritize funding for need-based grants. Here’s why:

-Washington State has over 73,000 college students receiving some form of need-based grant or work study money, which is roughly 2/3rds of all students across the state.
-34% of money awarded through state need-based grants are given to students of color.
-Without these crucial grants and low-interest loans, students will be forced to take on more debt from private banks, work more hours, or drop-out of college.

Washington Student Association cooked up a recipe that gives you all the facts on need-based grants. Study up on the ingredients, then e-mail your representatives today and tell them to FULLY FUND state need grants and support a budget this session that includes NEW REVENUE.

Here are your key representatives:

Speaker of the House:
Frank Chopp: chopp.frank@leg.wa.gov

Senate Ways and Means Committee Leadership (who delegate the ca$h)
Margarita Prentice: prentice.margarita@leg.wa.gov
Rodney Tom: tom.rodney@leg.wa.gov
Karen Fraser: fraser.karen@leg.wa.gov

House Ways and Means Committee Leadership
Kelli Linville: linville.kelli@leg.wa.gov
Mark Ericks: ericks.mark@leg.wa.gov
Pat Sullivan: sullivan.pat@leg.wa.gov

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