Democrats are generally known for favoring education spending by the federal government, whereas Republicans tend to oppose such expenditures. Many prominent Republicans, including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and former Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), have expressed support for eliminating the U.S. Department of Education altogether.
However, a new proposal from Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) proves that Democrats can be just as wrongheaded on education policy as many Republicans are.
One of the most important federal education programs is the Pell Grant system. The Pell program provides millions of young, low-income Americans with money for college tuition. According to the White House, nearly 9 million students will utilize a Pell Grant during the 2015 fiscal year.
The Pell program is currently running a surplus, which will turn into a deficit in 2017. Harkin’s proposal would take the Pell surplus and use it to increase payments to private student loan servicers like Navient Corp. and Nelnet Inc. The loan servicers act as middlemen for the federal government, collecting payments from federal student loans in exchange for hefty fees. In fiscal year 2013, the federal government spent nearly $680 million on payments to loan servicers.
These companies, Navient in particular, have come under fire for their questionable business practices. According to the Huffington Post, "The U.S. Department of Justice accused Navient of deliberately cheating as many as 60,000 active-duty troops out of as much as $60 million."
The Pell program has already seen massive cuts in recent years. In 2011, Pell Grant spending was at $42 billion, and this year, that figure is at about $29 billion.
President Barack Obama has also expressed support for increasing payments to student loan servicers. A proposal from the White House would raise total payments to loan servicers by the federal government to $772 million. These proposals by Harkin and Obama are textbook examples of corporate welfare. Lawmakers slash programs that actually benefit ordinary Americans in order to bolster the profits of large corporations.
Student loan debt in the U.S. is absolutely out of control. According to the Education Department, total student loan debt now stands at $1.1 trillion dollars, about twice what it was in 2008. An ideal solution to this problem would be to increase financial aid in an attempt to bring down debt. Instead, the president, Harkin and other politicians seek to lavish federal dollars on the companies whose underhanded business practices are a main reason student debt is such a serious issue.
America’s students, Gators included, deserve better from their government than an education policy that puts loan servicers first and students last. Democrats are in dire need of increased youth voter turnout to bolster their chances of political success. With policies like the ones advocated by Harkin and Obama, it is difficult to see why any young voter would support the blue team.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 12/7/2014]
