Greene County Democrat

Tag: Higher Education Act (HEA)

  • Newswire: Student Loans will now be handled by the U.S. Treasury

    Newswire: Student Loans will now be handled by the U.S. Treasury

    Besides being anti-immigrant, anti-diversity and inherently anti-
    science, the Trump administration has shown time and time again that it is anti-education — because a populace that learns things
    leaves fewer of the “poorly educated” voter who President Donald
    Trump said he loves so much.

    So, the federal government is still in its process of defunding the
    Department of Education, and, on Thursday, the administration
    announced plans to shift the nearly $1.7 trillion student loan
    portfolio to the Treasury Department, claiming its mission is to
    improve the efficiency of the loan system, or what it described as
    “overdue financial discipline.”

    From the New York Times: About half of all undergraduate
    students receive federal aid each year, according to the
    Institute of Education Sciences. More than 40 million
    people currently have federal student loans, including 9.2
    million in default and 2.4 million in late-stage delinquency,
    according to the Education Department.

    “Treasury has the unique experience, the operational
    capability and the financial expertise to bring long
    overdue financial discipline to the program and be better
    stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

    Linda McMahon, the education secretary, said that
    student aid would be better managed at Treasury. A fact
    sheet from the administration promised students would
    receive “the high-quality service they have come to
    expect under the Trump administration.”

    The second McMahon — the education secretary who thinks
    Black history is DEI while being ignorant of even some of the
    most well-known Black history — spoke of “the high-quality
    service they have come to expect under the Trump
    administration,” you have to know we’re being sold a bill of goods.

    The Trump administration doesn’t provide “high-quality” anything
    — certainly, not education-related.

    Instead, Trump has railed about “returning education to the
    states,” as if it would improve the quality of education overall,
    which ignores the glaring fact that states and local governments
    already dictate the academic side of their educational systems,
    including the setting of curricula, teacher hiring, teacher licensing,
    and standardized testing.

    Under Trump’s DOE, far-right groups are overseeing programs to
    “educate” America with thoroughly whitewashed U.S. history
    propaganda disguised as “patriotic” civics lessons. HBCUs have
    lost millions in grant funding, and Black academic institutions and
    programs, in general, have been threatened.

    Any and every program aimed at bettering the quality of
    education for Black people and other marginalized groups has
    been derailed with anti-DEI investigations and threats to withhold federal funding. And, as far as student loans go, all the MAGA-fied DOE has done is attack loan forgiveness initiatives and garnish the wages of borrowers who struggle to pay them back,
    crippling their credit scores.

    “In the midst of a growing affordability crisis where American
    families are already struggling to make ends meet, this risks
    driving millions of borrowers further into financial hardship,” Aissa
    Canchola Bañez, the policy director for Protect Borrowers, a
    group that targets predatory lenders, told the Times. “Instead of
    providing relief to the millions of defaulted borrowers who have
    fallen behind, the department is moving a portfolio of our most
    vulnerable borrowers to an agency with little to no expertise in the
    rights and benefits afforded to borrowers under the Higher
    Education Act.”

    Education is being controlled by an administration that thrives on
    anti-intellectualism and the demonization of institutions of
    learning, and it shows with every new policy change.

  • Newswire : HBCU funding blocked by Senate Education Chair

    By Charlene Crowell

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Each year as families beam with pride at seeing a son, daughter or another relative graduate from college, that achievement is nearly always the result of a family’s commitment to higher education. And when these institutions are among the more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), that pride is magnified by the history of how our forefathers overcame what once seemed to be insurmountable challenges.

    According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, between 1861 and 1900 more than 90 HBCUs were founded. From the first HBCU, Pennsylvania’s Cheney University, established in 1837, ensuing years led to even more educational opportunities that today include institutions spread across 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    So when federal legislation is blocked that would extend and preserve funding for HBCUs, such actions are not only an affront to today’s college students, but also to a history that has led to only 3% of the nation’s colleges and universities educating nearly 20% of all Black graduates. The success of HBCU graduates is even more noteworthy considering that 70% of students come from low-income families.

    On September 26, the damaging action taken by Tennessee’s Senator Lamar Alexander, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee blocked HBCU funding. Even worse, Senator Alexander made this move just days before funding was set to expire on September 30.

    The bill sponsored and introduced on May 2 by Alabama Senator Doug Jones and co-sponsored by South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, was named the FUTURE Act,an acronym for Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources Act. It began with bipartisan and bicameral support to extend critical HBCU and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs) funding through 2021 for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.

    “Alabama is home to 14 outstanding HBCUs that serve as a gateway to the middle class for many first-generation, low-income, and minority Americans,” stated Sen. Jones. The FUTURE Act will help ensure these historic schools and all minority-serving institutions continue to provide excellent education opportunities for their students.”

    Senator Scott agreed, adding “We all have a role to play in making the dream of college a reality for those who wish to pursue their education. The eight HBCUs in South Carolina have made a significant impact in our communities, creating thousands of jobs which translates to over $5 billion in lifetime earnings for their graduates.”

    By September 18, a total of 15 Senators signed on as co-sponsors, including eight Republicans representing the additional states of Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Dakota, and West Virginia. Other Democratic Senators signing on represented Arizona, California, Connecticut, Minnesota, Montana, Virginia and West Virginia.
    On the House side, two North Carolina Representatives, Rep. Alma Adams and her colleague Mark Walker introduced that chamber’s version that quickly passed in just two days before Alexander’s actions on the Senate floor.

    So why would the HELP Committee Chair oppose a bill that had such balanced support – in both chambers as well as geographically and by party?

    “Congress has the time to do this,” said Sen. Alexander on the floor of the Senate. “While the legislation expires at the end of September, the U.S. Department of Education has sent a letter assuring Congress that there is enough funding for the program to continue through the next fiscal year.”
    Alexander concluded his comments by using his remarks to push for a limited set of policy proposals that would amend the Higher Education Act piece by piece.

    His comments prompt a more basic question: Why is it that Congress has failed to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) for so many years?

    Competing HEA legislative proposals with different notions have been bandied about since 2014. Most of these ideas were variations of promises for improved access, affordability, and accountability, simplified financial aid applications and appropriate levels of federal support.
    Yet for families faced with a financial tug of war between rising costs of college and stagnant incomes, Congress’ failure to act on higher education translates into more student loans, and longer years of repayment.

    The same day as Senator Alexander’s block of the bill, Wil Del Pilar, vice president of higher education at The Education Trust, a national nonprofit that works to close opportunity gaps that disproportionately affect students of color and students from low-income families, reacted with a statement.
    “The reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) is of vital importance to millions of students who currently struggle to afford college, lack adequate supports while enrolled, and are underserved by a system that perpetuates racial inequity,” said Pilar. “Students need a federal policy overhaul that addresses these issues and acts to close racial and socioeconomic equity gaps, and they can’t afford to wait any longer.”
    .
    Charlene Crowell is the Deputy Communications Director with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.