Student Loan Reform to Piggyback on Health Bill

If the two are going in tandem, it must mean the student loan bill is pretty well liked by democrats. I don't think it's a bargaining chip. If you want to know more about the process of attaching the student loan reform to the health bill, read this. This is a good explainer as to why they might be doing this.

As of today, Pelosi says no public option in the health bill. I think that was a given.

Steny Hoyer said the House is moving ahead without a deal on new abortion language, to which Bart Stupak threatens that he and a dozen others may vote against health reform. He could be bluffing. John Boehner says the bill doesn't have the votes to pass and if it does pass, then republicans will try to repeal.

House Democrats plan to attach reform of the federal student loan system to the health care overhaul legislation, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said today. Folding student loan legislation into the reconciliation bill for health care reform “fixes” could allow the Obama administration to pass two of their top domestic priorities with a simple Senate majority vote.

“Joining these two bills presents a remarkable opportunity for our country,” Chairman of the House Education Committee Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said yesterday. More at ABC

Student loan reform looks like a winner to me:

The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act would cut out the middle man from federal student loan programs and give students the chance to borrow directly from the federal government instead of from banks. The bill, which passed the House in September, would also greatly expand the Pell grant program for low-income students.

When the bill passed the House it had an estimated savings of $87 billion over ten years. Since then that number has dropped to $67 billion as colleges have joined the “Direct Lending” program and reduced the amount of revenue that would be available for new spending.

Not surprisingly, banks have lobbied aggressively against the bill.