Three-quarters of a year already!

The girls are nine months old today! How did that happen?

Yale or Bust, part two

Well, it only took a month for Senator Obama to respond to my tirade about funding cuts for financial aid programs. (Still nothing from Senator Durbin.) Here's what the senator has to say:

Student loans provide critical financial aid for many. At the time I was attending college, financial aid was primarily in the form of grants. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Graduates now have more and more difficulty keeping up with loan payments. At a minimum, our government has the responsibility to ensure that the most affordable and sensible loans are available to our students.

The federal budget should reflect the nation's priorities, and the priorities established in this budget are clearly out-of-touch with those of the American people. I understand the need to get our federal deficit under control. However, I do not accept that funding domestic priorities and restoring discipline to federal spending are mutually exclusive propositions. It is tragic that student loans have been targeted, and that our students must pay a disproportionate price for this misguided definition of fiscal responsibility.

I joined a bipartisan group of Senators who voted against this budget bill and its devastating domestic cuts, but it ultimately passed. I have attached my statement from the Congressional Record regarding Budget Reconciliation.

I hope that Congress can work in a bipartisan manner on reducing the federal deficit without turning our backs on important domestic programs that help the less fortunate. The cuts that Congress has passed will have serious consequences for millions of hard-working Americans.

In closing, the budget legislation is only one piece of financial aid policy. As you know, the Higher Education Act (HEA) is up for reauthorization. HEA programs primarily focus on student financial aid; services to help high school students to graduate and enter successfully college; support for higher education institutions; and teacher training. A three-month extension to the financial aid provisions of HEA has been passed, allowing for continuation until March 31, 2006. In the mean time, differences in the reauthorization provisions in the House and in the Senate are likely to be ironed out in conference. You may be certain I will continue to monitor the situation and keep our shared priorities on my mind.

I'm glad to know the senator shares my concerns, but I can't help but think this issue is going to be lost in a sea of important issues, and by the time my girls are ready for higher education in 2023, we'll be on our own to come up with funding.

UPDATE 09/26/2006: When I complained about it taking Senator Obama a month to respond to me, little did I know it would take Senator Durbin a full seven months to respond. Here's what he had to say:

Since you contacted me previously regarding the cost of higher education,
I wanted to share with you some developments in the Senate that may affect
this matter.

To help address the burden of college costs, I have introduced the Stop
the Raid on Student Aid Act (S. 2573). The Deficit Reduction bill that
was pushed through Congress by the Majority at the end of 2005 included
$12 billion in cuts to student aid. It was the single largest cut in the
history of financial aid programs. My bill would cut interest rates in
half for both student and parent borrowers, mandate regular increases in
Pell Grants, and allow students to consolidate their loans while still in
school in order to lock in lower interest rates.

I also have worked for tax deductions and credits to help families better
afford the cost of tuition and student loans. I am disappointed that the
Majority has allowed a tuition deduction to expire that could help many
students and their families pay college costs. I support renewing and
expanding the opportunities provided to families through the tax code.

An educated workforce is vital to our nation's security agencies. I am an
original cosponsor of the Homeland Security Education Act (S. 2450), which
would create scholarships for students who pursue bachelor degrees in
science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or critical foreign
languages and then go on to work in a security-related federal agency.

Both of these bills (S. 2573 and S. 2450) have been referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for further action. I
am not a member of that committee but I am committed to working with my
colleagues toward passage of these important bills.

I also am asking the Government Accountability Office to study the state
of the student loan industry. The proposed report would focus on whether
borrowers have been adversely affected by changes in lenders' business
practices over the past 10 years. I hope that the results of this study
will point us toward other legislative solutions to this troubling
problem.

Hard-working students deserve a chance to go as far as their talents will
take them. I will continue to fight to make college more affordable so
that Americans have an opportunity to improve their lives through
education.

Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator