Help for swamped student borrowers

This is not the student loan industry’s year. First, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo exposed questionable practices of the major private lenders in their relationships with college financial aid offices. That resulted in negotiated six- and seven-figure settlements with many of the big lenders and new code of conduct rules.

Worse, the loan scandals turned the spotlight on questionable perks the industry has managed to secure from Congress over the years. When Congress passed its mammoth $18 billion college aid bill this fall, it paid for increased Pell Grant maximums and lower rates for student loans by halving the subsidies provided to lenders. These subsidies have resulted in huge profits for a business that pretends it is in it for the students.

Now, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) is back to retrieve another questionable benefit from private lenders’ treasure chests. He has introduced S. 1561, a bill that would allow debt-strapped borrowers in extreme financial hardship to discharge their private student loan debts through bankruptcy.

This would correct a change Congress made two years ago at the urging of lenders, when it passed a bankruptcy reform law that made it as difficult for borrowers to discharge private loan debts as it is to discharge debt from federal loans. Lenders had said, with that protection, it could make more loans to riskier borrowers. Financial aid analysts say this hasn’t happened. What’s more, there was scant evidence of borrowers shirking their loan obligations before the law was changed.

Bush vetoes child healthcare bill

Asserting ideology over a bipartisan agreement by members of Congress, President Bush on Oct. 3 carried out his threat to veto healthcare legislation for low-income children. He did so quietly, behind closed doors.

"The president’s veto is a disgraceful failure to support our nation’s vulnerable children," said AFT president Edward J. McElroy. "Kids need reliable, high-quality healthcare to grow up healthy and succeed in school. The president’s action further stains an already tarnished legacy."

The bill to renew and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a compromise measure hammered out between the House and Senate, would expand the $5 billion-a-year program by an average of $7 billion a year over the next five years.

That would be enough to boost enrollment to more than 10 million children, up from 6.6 million, and dramatically reduce the number of uninsured children in America, currently about 9 million. SCHIP helps children whose families don’t qualify for Medicaid but can’t afford private insurance.

The bill has garnered wide support, even among conservative industry and healthcare organizations. As AFT On Campus went to press, the Senate, at 68-31, had enough votes to override the president’s veto, but the House, at 265-159, needed 19 more votes. AFT members contacted their members of Congress to urge a vote to override.

"An overwhelming majority of Americans support this bill, as does a strong bipartisan majority in Congress," added McElroy. "Congress should make it a priority to override this veto, delivering the strong message that the president’s obstruction will not jeopardize children’s health."

Legislation to fix anti-worker ruling

A bill that would reverse a decision causing millions of workers to lose their union rights is gaining ground in Congress, but it needs more sponsors if it is to become law.

The Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) Act, introduced in March 2007, would amend the definition of "supervisor" in the National Labor Relations Act. The amendment is necessary because of a 2006 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board.

The ruling on a group of cases, known as Kentucky River, says employers can label workers as supervisors if they assign another employee to a particular location, to work at a certain time or to perform a significant task. Workers also could be deemed supervisors if they are held accountable for the tasks they assign.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the ruling could potentially affect more than 8 million workers in every industry. One of the hardest-hit professions would be nursing, with an estimated 843,000 registered nurses at risk of losing their right to join a union.

The bill would amend the definition of supervisor under the NLRA by deleting the terms "assign" and "responsibility to direct"—the terms the labor board used to justify its rulings. Under the new bill, an employee would have to spend the majority of his or her day in a supervisory capacity to be classified as a supervisor.

The bill already has more than 100 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and more than 20 in the Senate, but it needs more. To send a letter to your representative and senators asking for their support on this important legislation, visit the AFT’s Legislative Action Center at www.unionvoice.org/campaign/KYRiver101106.

Ed. Dept. to Fund assessment pilot

The Department of Education has awarded a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education grant of $2.45 million to a consortium of three higher education associations to begin a learning assessment project. The Association of American Colleges and Universities, the National Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities say they will build on prior assessments to test and advance practices that will raise student achievement levels.