The Bush Administration says that it cannot support the Kennedy Plan to change the role of student loan lenders. The President believes that the government should be doing more to fund grants that students don’t have to repay. The Administration wants to combat the real problem: the rising cost of tuition. The government could better spend its money helping the poorest of students by giving money that students don’t have to repay. Students who don’t qualify for Federal grants will best benefit from a competitive student loan environment where lenders compete for student’s business.

Everyone would benefit if the Federal government started paying some attention to the reasons that college tuition is increasing so much. The cost of higher education, after all, is primarily determined by the cost of tuition, housing, and books – not the few percentage points in interest charged on student loans.

The real culprit in the amount of student loan debt a borrower has upon graduation has nothing to do with his or her interest rate. It has to do with how much the student borrowed. Students can’t and don’t borrow money they don’t need. They borrow what they need to cover their college expenses – namely, tuition, room and board, and books. If Congress wants to do something for the poor college student, it should take a long, hard look at the cost of tuition, and start asking why college tuition rises so much faster than the rate of inflation.

Amuse yourself and do a Google search on the phrase “rising faster than the rate of inflation” to find out what’s getting more expensive. Prescription drugs, health care costs, wages, energy costs, food prices, and college tuition are all rising faster that the rate of inflation. Colleges and universities have to pay for health care and prescription drug insurance, employee salaries, energy to heat large public buildings, and food for resident students.

Congress can do something about rising health care, prescription drug and energy costs, three of the largest culprits. They could be addressing the cost of rising health care and prescription drugs. They could be promoting alternative energy programs to help colleges and universities reduce their energy costs. Instead, they choose to attack student loan lenders. Talk about disconnecting from reality.

Tell your senators to tune into the real reasons college tuition rises so fast and start attacking those problems at their sources, instead of looking for someone to blame. If they insist upon having someone to blame, tell them to look in the mirror.

You can make a difference
Call your Senators
Send your Senators an e-mail
Download a letter and fax it to your Senators
Sign the petition and
Tell your friends the truth about the proposed student loan legislation