Student Loan - Loans and Debt Consolidation

THE BANK LOBBYISTS BEHIND THE SENATORS VOTING NO ON RECONCILIATION HUFFINGTON POST BLOG

The Bank Lobbyists Behind the Senators VotingNo on Reconciliation

As the Senate takes up health care under the reconciliation process, the fight to block reform continues -- for the banks and their minions in the Senate, at least.

The health care fix-it bill approved by the House on Sunday night includes student loan reform legislation that would end wasteful subsidies to lenders like Sallie Mae, Citigroup, and JP Morgan. The banks are extraneous middlemen in the student loan business, skimming profits by originating government-backed loans and charging high interest rates. The reconciliation bill would eliminate the program that subsidizes these activities and switch to a more efficient and equitable system of direct lending.

Despite the common-sense nature of the reform, Senators Blanche Lincoln and Ben Nelson have decided that they will vote no on the reconciliation bill due to the inclusion of student loan reform legislation. Two weeks ago, they were part of a coalition of six Democratic Senators -- including Mark Warner, Tom Carper, Bill Nelson, and Jim Webb -- that wrote a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid raising concerns about the student reform legislation.

Why would these Senators step forward to defend a wasteful, inefficient system that pads bank ...[more]