Letter from LAD to Membership
Re: Student Debt and HR 5
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
I want to thank you all for the hard work and effort that went into AMSA's support of the National Day of Action on Student Debt. Along with our partner organizations in the Campaign for College Affordability, we were able to secure the passage of H.R. 5 – the College Student Relief Act of 2007.
The turnout of AMSA members in support of the National Day of Action was truly amazing. In one day, we logged over 12,650 actions through AMSA's Legislative Action Center (
http://www.amsa.org/legislativecenter/) including over 2,000 phone calls to 144 Senators and Representatives, sent 471 Congressional offices more than 8,700 letters by email and printed out an additional 1,600+ letters to be sent by post or fax. Our contribution was recognized not only by those Congressional members we contacted, but also by our coalition partners, who were impressed by the organizing power of AMSA. You should be proud of the work you did and realize that it made a real difference.
In the world of politics, government and legislation, what we want is not always what we get – and a victory is sometimes tempered by the realization that you have only taken the first step in what is going to be a long journey. The final version of H.R. 5 that passed the House of Representatives did not have the graduate provisions we wanted to see included. As you know, bills go through many versions, changes, amendments and rewrites before their final passages. In this case, the final bill that passed applied to undergraduate loans, but not to graduate student loans.
I am as frustrated as the rest of you that a bill we worked so hard to support will make so little difference for the majority of AMSA's members. However, I encourage you all to look at the remarkable work done by so many AMSA activists and apply that energy to the next round.
S. 359, the Student Debt Relief Act of 2007, authored by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), builds on the foundation of H.R. 5, but includes provisions that will make a real difference for graduate students. Both AMSA National President Jay Bhatt and I have been in touch with Sen. Kennedy's office. We have taken part in meetings and discussions about exactly what this bill can do for AMSA members. We have made clear that in order to win our support, we need to see real mandates for graduate student debt relief.
Currently, the bill includes:
o a proposed increase in the Pell Grant to a maximum of $6,300 in the 2011-2012 school year through mandatory, entitlement funding;
o a Student Aid Reward Program that offers financial incentives for schools participating in the Direct Loan Program;
o an interest rate reduction;
o a Fair Payment Assurance provision that will allow borrowers to limit monthly loan repayment amounts;
o additional tax breaks in the form of an increased tuition deduction;
o the allowance of in-school loan consolidation; and
o a provision allowing for the Direct Loan Origination fee to be charged on a case-by-case basis.
In its entirety, S. 359 is a better bill for AMSA members than H.R. 5 and we will work to make sure it stays that way. I ask for your continued support of our work on student debt issues. When the time comes, we will make sure that you are well-informed regarding the final content of the Student Debt Relief Act of 2007 and that your activism will yield more tangible results.
Your AMSA leaders are also continuing to work proactively with members of Congress to develop legislation that will help relieve your debt burden. Specifically, we are currently working on a bill that will provide loan benefits for health professionals. We recognize that your commitment to medical school and to serving your patients comes with a very high cost. It is our pledge to continue to work to relieve medical student debt.
I encourage you to keep an eye on student debt legislation and also to educate yourselves and your colleagues on the issues. A wealth of information is available from the AMSA Loan Consolidation Program at
www.amsaloanconsolidation.com. You are also more than welcome to contact me at any time if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions for the national leadership as we move toward relieving student debt.
Thank you for your continued support and activism.
Sincerely,
Catherine Davenport Pollock
AMSA Legislative Affairs Director, 2006-2007
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