Glad tidings and a heightened agenda

These issues get right to the heart of why labor activists—especially those who read AFT On Campus—engaged in political action for these midterm elections. It’s an agenda that provides relief for lower- and middle-income working families, especially those with students in college or on that path.

What can higher education activists expect from the 110th Congress? The Democrats spelled out three immediate actions they’ll take—

■  cut the loan interest rate by half;

■  raise the maximum Pell Grant within two years to $5,100, up from $4,050; and

■  increase the tax deduction for college tuition.

How these measures will be paid for has yet to be worked out. The new leadership has promised not to raise taxes on the middle class and not to increase the deficit. One likely place to look for money is in the federal subsidies companies in the guaranteed student loan program have been able to secure through lobbying. As the Chronicle of Higher Education documented last year, 80 percent of the $632,000 loan industry officials donated to representatives on the House Education and Workforce Committee before the 2004 elections went to Republicans. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the likely new chair of that committee, is skeptical of lender profits.

Longer range: The Higher Education Act, extended four times, continues in limbo. The House passed one version of a bill to reauthorize the act, but it failed in the Senate. It is likely that Congress will start over, raising hopes among activists that a new bill will shed so-called academic bill of rights language and increase student financial aid.