moderator: OK, let's begin.

moderator: Thank you, everyone, for coming to the CP NewsLink online chat this afternoon where we will be discussing this week's proposed Congressional cuts to student loan programs in the United States.

moderator: This week marks a critical moment for college and university students relying on student loans to finance their education. With average education loan debt reaching $20,000 per student, and college expenses skyrocketing, some members of Congress want to slash nearly $15 billion from student loan programs.

moderator: As a result, higher education may fast become a pipe dream for more and more American youth. Student aid cuts give young Americans an un-American choice: Give up on their career dreams or sink deeper and deeper into debt to finance their education.

moderator: Students around the country have organized themselves to send a clear message urging Congress: "Stop the Raid on Student Aid."

moderator: We are pleased to welcome two speakers as our guests this afternoon: Jasmine O. Harris, Legislative Director of the United States Student Association (USSA), is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

moderator: She is joined by Luke Swarthout, organizer of the State Public Interest Research Groups' (PIRG) Higher Education Project, who is a graduate of Amherst College.

jasmine_harris: Thank you all for participating and I welcome your questions.

moderator: Ms. Harris and Mr. Swarthout, welcome to CP NewsLink.

luke_swarthout: Thanks everyone for joining us. My name is Luke Swarthout, I am the Higher Education Associate with the State Public Interest Research Groups, a national association of state based non-profit organizations that lobby on environmental, consumer and higher education issues. The PIRGs have chapters on 100 college campuses and I work in DC on behalf of college students to increase access to and the affordability of higher education.

moderator: Let's begin with a question that's on everyone's mind...

moderator: Student groups are calling on students to lobby Congress against college loan cuts, but what impact can we really have on the political process?

luke_swarthout: For some context you should know that thousands of students across the country have weighed in with their Representatives opposing these cuts to student aid. Almost 100 stories have been printed on campus and off-campus papers. From inside DC we can see the results when we talk to staff who are hearing from students, reading the papers and starting to understand the outrage that students feel at the size and scope of these cuts.

luke_swarthout: In short I believe students can have a significant impact

jasmine_harris: Students have been instrumental in voicing their concerns and raising awareness around the country about these proposed cuts. Congress originally planned to take action in mid-September, but the response of students and concerned citizens toward these cuts have delayed Congressional action. Students can siginficantly impact the political process.

moderator: And now let's turn it over to the audience for your questions. Participants, when asking a question, please indicate your school and paper name at the front of your question. Thanks.

moderator: To ask a question, simply type it into the box at the bottom of your Chat window and click the "ASK" button.

moderator: We'll now move to take our first question.

moderator: Audience, the speakers are just receiving their first questions.

<Q>The Heights at Boston College. What's the sentiment in Washington about these cuts actually going through? Does it seem like the bill has a good chance of passing? 

<A>luke_swarthout: The House is planning on voting on the large budget reconciliation package of $54 billion in cuts, of which student loan cuts constitute approximately 30% or $14.3 billion, tomorrow. The House leadership is working to cut deals, pull pieces out of the package or put in sweeteners to try and make the bill go through. We don't expect higher ed cuts to be yanked from the bill and conventional wisdom is that they may get something passed tomorrow but it'll be close. 

<Q>University of Southern California, Daily Trojan. I've read a lot about how these cuts are going to affect students, what students can do, etc. But unfortunately, there's been very little about the specific types of cuts that are going to be made, how much from each of the House and Senate, etc. Could you clarify exactly what's going on with these pieces of legislation? 

<A>luke_swarthout: The Senate reconciliation cuts $21 billion from student loan programs (from students and some from lenders), recycles about half of the cuts into new funding progras, but ultimately cuts $9.7 billion out of the program to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. 

<Q>West Virginia University, The Daily Athenaeum. As a student, I don't feel like this has been a significant issue on campus. There hasn't been any buzz about slashing student aid. Why do you think this is so? 

<A>jasmine_harris: These proposed cuts to the student loan programs will cost the average student borrower up to an additional $5800 during loan repayment. When students learn about these cuts and how drastically they will be impacted if the legislation passes, the next question is how students can get involved and make a difference. There has been an enormous response from students around the country, which has resulted in thousands of phone calls, emails, faxes, and petitions. Campus media is a great mechanism to spread the word, and through your journalism efforts West Virginia University students will further explore this issue. 

moderator: Luke would like to add... "To Follow up on the Daily Trojan Question. The House Reconciliation bill cuts $14.3 billion out of the student loan programs. $7.8 billion of that will come from new charges to students from higher interest rates and increased fees on loan consolidation, another $5.2 billion of those cuts will come by requiring lenders to rebate $5.2 billion in excessive student payments but uses the money to pay for special tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans rather than returning the money to students."

<Q>Hofstra University-The Chronicle. Mr Swarthout, you said you have spoken to staff in DC who are aware of students' outrage. Who are you referring to when you say staff- Congress members? Any ones in particular? 

<A>luke_swarthout: I've spoken to a number of staff but I'll offer one example: yesterday I spoke to the legislative director of Representative Tom Osborne, a Republican from Nebraska, who commented that all last week students were flooding their phones with calls. When I came into her office she commented that she was well aware of how students feel about reconciliation. 

<Q>Tarrant County Community College, The Collegian. What is the key motive or justification for these cuts in education? 

<A>jasmine_harris: The initial response by legislators is that these cuts to education are being done for the sake of deficit reduction. There are a couple of issues with that response. The first is that while Congress is proposing to cut our student loan programs and other programs by at least $34.7 billion, at the same time they are proposing to pass about $70 billion in tax cuts. Therefore the cuts to the loan programs are actually paying for tax cuts. 

<Q>Tarrant County Community College, The Collegian. Is it possible for Congress to put a complete stop on the cuts? 

<A>luke_swarthout: Yes, the House could vote against the budget reconciliation bill tomorrow, that would end these cuts. I should point out that Congress does not need to do budget reconciliation, also, budget reconciliation is $35-$50 billion in spending cuts but $70 billion in tax cuts. Putting a stop to budget reconciliation would bring down the deficit. 

<Q>Tarrant County Community College, The Collegian. What is the key motive or justification for these cuts in education? 

<A>jasmine_harris: Secondly, the cuts to the student loan programs will make a bad situation worse for millions of low and moderate income students. The average low income student faces $3800 in unmet need, after receiving federal and state aid, and the average moderate income student faces $2250 in unmet need. Students are already in a hole, and the proposed changes to the student loan programs will only make higher education inaccessible for millions of students. 

<Q>If it passes in the House, what is the next step for it, and what can students do at that point to make a difference? 

<A>luke_swarthout: If it passes the House, the House and Senate will meet to "conference" or combine their bills. After that point the House and Senate will be asked to vote again on the final bills. The House and Senate proposals are significantly different and so conferencing them together will be a challenge. Students can play a critical role in stopping reconciliation by pressuring their representatives not to support the final reconciliation package. 

<Q>Wake Forest University, "Old Gold and Black". What particular population of students are we worried about that will be affected the most by these cuts? 

<A>luke_swarthout: Students taking out federal student loans will see the cost of their loans increase. The typical student borrower with $17,500 in debt could pay up to $5,800 in additional interest payments. 

moderator: Great questions, everyone. As a reminder, if you'd like to ask a question, simply type it into the box at the bottom of your Chat window and click the �ASK� button.

luke_swarthout: More generally all students will suffer as Congress will drain billions of dollars out of the student loan programs that could be going to bring down interest rates or increase financial aid for struggling college students.

<Q>Last Spring, legislators passed up the opportunity to push the STAR program which would increase the amount of student aid without any burden on the public. Why do you think they passed up this opportunity? One could speculate that instead of cutting profits of lenders they are explicitly choosing to place the burden on the public. 

<A>jasmine_harris: That is an excellent point. Legislators have passed up the opportunity to pass the STAR Act, which would redirect money back to student aid as schools switch to the Direct Loan program, which is less expensive to the government than the Federal Family Educational Loan program. At the same time, students need all money saved from eliminating inefficiencies in the student loan programs to go back to students, because millions of students need greater financial assistance. 

<Q>Wake Forest University, "Old Gold and Black": Ultimately, if and when this cut passes through Congress, when can we expect these cuts to take place in Student Financial Aid? 

<A>jasmine_harris: These cuts would be enacted starting on all student loans originated on and after July 1, 2006. 

<Q>If students want to get involved, is there a Website or phone number for them to call? 

<A>luke_swarthout: Students can call 1-800-574-4243, to be connected to the Captiol switchboard so they can let their representative or senators know that they should stop the raid on student aid and oppose budget reconciliation. 

luke_swarthout: or they can check out our websites www.studentaidaction.com or www.usstudents.org

<Q>Are there certain members of Congress that are supporting this bill than others? Do you think this is a bipartisan issue? 

<A>luke_swarthout: For political reasons all of the House Democrats are opposing budget reconciliation. A number of moderate Republicans have also expressed their serious concern with the cuts. We have been working to build up this bipartisan opposition to deep cuts to student aid. 

<Q>Boston College, The Heights. Will these cuts affect students at the graduate level? 

<A>jasmine_harris: On the House side, there is a 1% origination fee charged on all consolidation loans, which graduate students would also have to pay. The Senate bill would allow for graduate students to take out PLUS loans, but the PLUS loans would have a high fixed interest rate. 

moderator: There are a few questions remaining. If anyone has any last questions, please submit them now.

<Q>What have you been doing to build up opposition? Is there more than letter-writing and phone calls? 

<A>luke_swarthout: Students have been focusing on three main tactics: 1) grassroots pressure through calls to members offices-we've generated over 10,000 calls from students, 2) local media coverage and editorials-of which there have been approximately 100 over the last month and a half, 3) and getting college presidents to weigh in with the legislators-which has been happening all across the country. 

<Q>If the bill passes the House, when would it go to conference? 

<A>jasmine_harris: website for more information about the Budget and Appropriations work. 

<Q>What is the most effective way to reach our Representatives? Mail or phone? 

<A>luke_swarthout: At this point people should be calling their representatives in Washington, DC. Students can call toll fre 1-800-574-4243 

<Q>Univ. of Illinois - Daily Illini - An article from NASFAA said moderate Republicans are dissatisfied with the scope of the budget cuts that they know the Senate will not accept. What are the House Republicans and Democrats saying about the bill? Do we know which way the moderates and conservatives are leaning? How can we expect Senate to repond to the bill as it stands now? 

<A>luke_swarthout: There are definitely differences between the House and the Senate versions that will create problems in conference. It's unclear the degree and extent of those problems. 

luke_swarthout: Students have played, and can continue to play, a critical role in stopping the largest cuts to student aid programs in history. Students should call their representatives and tell them to vote against budget reconciliation.

moderator: Jasmine would like to add this answer to one of her last questions... "If the bill passes the House, it would go to conference with the Senate sometime next week. They would more than likely introduce a conference report after the Thanksgiving break, which begins November 21st for 2 weeks. If we defeat budget reconciliation in the House, the process fails for this year, and we begin our Budget and Appropriations FY 07 campaign in February. You can visit our website for more info."

luke_swarthout: for more information check out www.studentaidaction.com or www.usstudent.org

jasmine_harris: Students are having a powerful influence over this process, and we highly encourage reporters to include the 1-800 number in your articles. We can defeat this legislation.

moderator: This concludes today's newsmaker conference with Jasmine Harris and Luke Swarthout.

moderator: On behalf of our guests, thank you for attending, and thank you for your interest. And, on behalf of the college journalists attending this event, and those reading about it, our thanks go out to our two guests for taking time out of their busy schedules to chat with us today.

moderator: If you have additional questions about this story, or would like to request more information, please contact:

moderator: Jasmine Harris, United States Student Association, 202.347.8772, or [email protected]

moderator: or Luke Swarthout, State PIRGs' Higher Education Project, 202.546.9707, [email protected]

moderator: Additionally, for your use in writing a story, we will be sending a full transcript of this event over Collegiate Presswire today to all of our subscribing newspapers, and we will be posting a copy on the front page of the CPNewsLink website shortly thereafter. (https://www.cpnewslink.com)

moderator: As a reminder, we will be hosting additional CP NewsLink newsmaker events throughout the next month, and will be posting notification of them on the front page of the CPNewsLink website and on Collegiate Presswire prior to the next event.

moderator: We hope you enjoyed this chat, and trust that it provided you with some insight and perspectives into this issue for your use in writing stories on this timely topic.

moderator: Thank you, once again, for attending today's CP NewsLink conference.

moderator: Good bye, everyone!