In the wake of the Student Loan Bill passing alongside the Health Care Bill as part of the Health Care and Reconciliation Act on March 21, 2010, many are trying to make sense of what this means for students, and as a larger picture, what this means for the future of the government. Onlookers are both entirely supportive, and also wholly confused about what the bill means to them. As the larger issues of health care eclipsed it, the student loan bill emerges as a key factor of many disputes.
One such onlooker is Administrative Vice President & Regional Sales Manager for Treasury Management at M&T Bank, Frank Conway. As a banker, and father of five, Conway is looking at the bigger picture.
"I was against the bill, it was rushed and not well thought out", said Conway.
Conway is adamant in his opinion that student loans are not the governments area of expertise. "above all, it is a huge government takeover of an important part of the economy. it was all about the health care and less about the student bill. I was dismayed to see the two topics linked."
This notion of the government takeover of a private business echoed throughout the Republican offices. When questioned about the student loan bill and its effects, the conversation swiftly moved to health care. Because the two are inextricably linked, it becomes hard to speak of one without the other.
John, who did not give his last name, works at the front office for Olympia Snowe, the republican senator of Maine, he notes, “The biggest reason for support for or against the student loan bill was more about health care”.
This notion of the two bills being entangled was again voiced by Republican senator Orrin Hatch's spokeswoman Antonia Ferrier, "the democrats did not have enough money so they included the government takeover of the student loan industry to offset the cost of their bill”.
"It would be more accurate to say that the health care bill was included in the student loan legislation". Says Mark Kantrowitz, a leading financial expert of FinAid.org. He states that as of September 17th of last year, the government knew that they would have to include both within the same bill, and this was done perfectly acceptably.
Ferrier's extreme opinions and frustration over the bill have been met with many like minded citizens and senators alike. Many think the bill is too risky and not grounded in real information. The opposition the bill has seen stems from the fact that its outcome is unknown.
“Nobody knows what the outcome will be, there are over 2,000 pages of legislation all tied together, the senator would have been more supportive with a bill in which the consequences were known”, says Kyle Hines,press secretary for senator James E Risch of Idaho.
However, it seems that as many are panicking and fearing for the worst, experts such as Bill Mack are speculating and coming up with real world answers to others fears. Bill Mack, part of Financial Aid Experts, Inc. states that, "the impact on students will be minimal".
As for the echoing of the word takeover, the Committee on Education and Labor has published a comprehensive Myth VS Fact walk through, in order to dispel anxieties about the student loan bill and in part the health care bill. "It’s ridiculous to argue this is a government takeover, when the federal student loan programs are already a federal program, established and subsidized by the federal government".
Glee Smith, on the legislative council for Johnny Isakson of Georgia, noted the change in hands saying, "Now all students go through the department of ed, and they don’t have the capacity to help everyone, their website has been down several times just within the last few weeks".
Frank Conway says, he will undoubtedly be"impacted as a parent consumer by having less choice and poor service".
However, though many are upset with this shift, John Matulovich, a representative at FAFSA says of the loans going through the department of education, "that's good because they offer certain loan forgiveness programs that other lenders do not as well".
Though the masses are still unsure of this shift in student loans, and of its involvement in health care, individuals seem to be finding their footing. "my bank and business training tells me it will be a train wreck disaster in the coming years," says Conway. In one way or another, students will be confronted with the change, but it may not directly affect them.
The government is doing a good job in reassuring people so far, it must simply prove itself, but as the Committee on Education and Labor site says, they already have, "The federal government has already proven that it can originate loans more efficiently and reliably than private lenders. Where private lenders have excelled is in servicing loans to students".
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