Debt is a huge issue for young adults these days. The Democrats have already proposed legislation that would of student loans in half. Now there is discussion of going even further and adding a for families that pay tuition:
Amongthe measures Democrats have proposed is halving the interest rate onsome federal student loans, which could save students thousands ofdollars over the term of their loans. Parents could benefit from aproposal to allow tax deductions for tuition paid by families earningup to $160,000 a year. And lower-income families could get added helpfrom a possible expansion of the federal Pell Grant program.
Some of the proposals may drawopposition from banks and other for-profit lenders if the interest ratereductions eat into their profits.
This would be a win-win proposal for families all across the social spectrum -- from poor to upper middle class households. And ensuring that the next generation of Americans can go to college and get an education is not such a bad idea either.
If you are the shareholder of a company that makes money every time a student goes into debt, then you might not like what the Democratic House and Senate are :
Look no further than the granddaddy ofstudent lenders, SLM Corp- more commonly known as Sallie Mae -which fell some 13 percent throughNov. 7 and dropped another 5 percent on Nov. 8, as the news rolled inthat the Democrats had captured the House.
In Congress's last term, Republicans did not fully reauthorize theHigher Education Act, which governs many aspects of education finance,thereby leaving the door open for Democrats to change the laws.
Andchange is indisputably part of the Democratic agenda. George Miller(D-California), who is likely to become the new chairman of the HouseCommittee on Education and the Workforce, wants to cut interest rateson student loans in half.
Unlike many bills that will get vetoed by President Bush, this one is almost a sure bet to get through. The Republicans would not want to be branded as the anti-education party.
More in Washington, this time involving Rep. Curt Weldon:
The Justice Department is investigating whether Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) traded his political influence for lucrative lobbying andconsulting contracts for his daughter, according to sources with directknowledge of the inquiry.
The FBI has formally referred the matter to the department's PublicIntegrity Section for additional scrutiny. At issue are Weldon'sefforts between 2002 and 2004 to aid two Russian companies and twoSerbian brothers with ties to former Yugoslavian president SlobodanMilosevic, a federal law enforcement official said.
The Russian companies and a Serbian foundation run by the brothers'family each hired a firm co-owned by Weldon's daughter, Karen, for feestotaling nearly $1 million a year, public records show.
KarenWeldon was 28 and lacked consulting experience when she and CharlesSexton, a Weldon ally and longtime Republican leader in DelawareCounty, Pa., created the firm Solutions North America Inc. in 2002.Both are registered with the Justice Department as representatives offoreign clients.
This could not come at a worse time for the GOP, considering that Democratic challenger 52% to 44% in the race for Pennsylvania's 7th District House seat. This race might now be all but over.
Left unguarded by , , decreases in , and the added , the Republicans were exposed today by Hillary Clinton, Tom Vilsack and a group of Democrats on the issue of sound :
"It's the American dream, stupid," said the formerfirst lady in a riff on her husband's successful 1992 campaign mantra —"It's the economy, stupid." Democrat Bill Clinton served two terms inthe White House.
"They're not taking care of America. They'rebankrupting our country and failing to address the problems," the NewYork senator said, citing skyrocketing gas, college and health carecosts and lamenting a GOP "failure to provide Americans with economicsecurity."
"Once again America needs to work for everyonenot just the privileged and the powerful," Clinton said, adding thatDemocrats can be the "change agent" this fall by winning control of theHouse and Senate from Republicans.
"Democrats know we must stop passing on debtto our children and start doing what's best for our country and ourchildren," she said in a speech to moderates attending the annualmeeting of the Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist think tankbest known for helping her husband win the White House in 1992.
On the sidelines, as the DNC and the DCCC battle one another over for this November, the centrist DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) is making its move to once again establish itself as a prominent policy voice in the Democratic Party. Even though the DLC went through a pretty poor stretch between 2001 and 2003, where a lot of its foreign policy stances were in line with President Bush, it is still smart for Hillary to associate herself with a centrist group like that in order to broaden her support among independents. Also, the DLC issued another report urging Democrats to outside urban and inner suburban parts of the country -- which pretty much any Democrat would agree with.
Now back to the issue of the economy. According to a recent poll, are the number one concern for voters heading into the November election. Many, including myself, believe it is absolutely essential for the Democrats to tie energy and economics. Soaring gas prices impact how much money consumers spend, which in turn hurts small businesses. So convincing voters that we ought to invest money in alternative energy is a step in the right direction.
But energy isn't everything. The minimum wage, tuition, Social Security and Medicare -- all of which are cost of living issues -- need to be addressed. Ever so slowly, the Democrats are beginning to address them. This DLC event was very important because the Democrats have needed to brand themselves as the pro-family party. The Republicans can use culture to divide us all they want. But in the end, it's the economy, stupid.
After taking American history classes in elementary school, middle school and high school, and viewing how our school systems were once segregated, I never thought that I'd live to hear about what is happening now to the Omaha school system. The into three groups among racial lines: one that is largely Hispanic, one that is largely black and one that is largely white:
Republican Gov. Dave Heineman was expected to sign the measure into law.
Omaha Sen. Pat Bourne decried the bill, saying, "We will go down inhistory as one of the first states in 20 years to set race relationsback."
"History will not, and should not, judge us kindly," said Sen. Gwen Howard of Omaha.
The idea of giving racial groups an independent burden of managing their own school districts clearly . You can bet that this will reach the doorsteps of the U.S. Supreme Court. Aside from the constitution, it turns the social clock of the United States back to a day that many of us don't want to remember.
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