College affordability important goal; so is protection of employer
TOM REYNOLDS Congressman 26th District
Two weeks ago, the new Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives pushed through hastily written legislation that will, over five years, phase in a reduction of interest rates that college graduates pay on subsidized student loans. While I have long supported efforts to make college more affordable and in turn voted in favor of this measure along with 355 of my colleagues, I did so with serious reservations about the methods the Democrats employed to pay for the rate cuts.

First and foremost, the rate cut is scaled down so much from the campaign promises made by Democrats, it is hardly recognizable. While some students will undoubtedly benefit from this rate cut, the full reduction from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent is not realized until mid-2011 and then only stays in effect for six months, making this appear to be a stopgap political maneuver instead of a long-term solution to expanding college opportunity.

And unfortunately, this bill offsets the costs of these expensive and temporary rate cuts by dipping into the very student loan program designed to assist many students with financing their education.

Changes to the Federal Family Education Loan Program included in this bill could ultimately dampen competition in the lending industry, leaving student borrowers with fewer choices, fewer services and more administrative costs.

In particular, I am troubled that this legislation includes a decrease in incentives for companies such as Pioneer Credit Recovery, one of the largest, private-sector employers in our area. Pioneer is a national leader, helping students who default on their loans meet their responsibilities and rehabilitate their credit rating - one of the most difficult and important services loan agencies provide.

Before any legislation is sent to the president, this provision must be addressed to ensure that Pioneer Credit not only can continue to effectively serve student borrowers but also continue to keep and create jobs in Western New York.

This and many other issues deserved full and fair debate. Unfortunately, Republicans in the House were denied any opportunity to amend and thereby strengthen this bill to be a real and long-term solution to college financing for millions of middle- and low-income families.

Cutting interest rates is a great sound bite, but good bumper stickers do not always make good policy.

Last week's vote was not the last word on this bill by far, and it is my sincere hope the Senate takes a much fairer approach in its handling of this issue. We have a responsibility to students and taxpayers alike to continue working through this issue in a bipartisan way to truly make college more accessible and affordable for students while protecting jobs in our communities.

It is my hope that the Senate takes a much fairer approach in its handling of this issue and that together we can produce a final package that is sound policy instead of sound bites.

We need to ensure real and long-term college affordability without hurting the students we are aiming to protect.