In a classic season six episode of The Simpsons called "Bart's Comet," a rogue comet is hurtling towards the town of Springfield. Local anchorman Kent Brockman goes live ("via satellite") to the floor of the United States Congress, who are voting on a bill that could save the town from certain doom.
"Than it is unanimous," the crusty old white man (presumably the speaker of the house – the episode aired in 1995, when the House of Representatives was even crustier and whiter than it is now), "we are going to approve the bill to evacuate the town of Springfield in the great state of –"
He's interrupted by a younger white congressman.
"Wait a second – I want to tack on a rider to that bill: $30 million of tax payer money to support the Perverted Arts."
The speaker of the house resumes: "All in favor of the amended Springfield slash pervert bill?" He's met with a chorus of boos. "Bill defeated."
Why bring this up, besides to remind us all how much better The Simpsons was back in 1995?
Well, it seems that the Student Financial Aid Bill, which many see as something that piggybacked onto the much more widely discussed Health Care Reform Bill, was actually the earlier bill. To put it in The Simpsons terms, the Health Care Bill was actually the pervert bill.
But the amalgam of Student Aid and Health Care left the Student Aid side of things to lose massive amounts of funding. "29-30 billion dollars in savings in the legislation was no longer able to be spent on student aid," Kantrowitz explained.
The newly passed Student Aid Bill, the most radical change in policy since the original bill was developed as part of the G.I. Bill (itself a response to the technological escalation between America and the USSR during the space race), has lost some of its key selling points, among them an increase in Pell Grant money (a post-secondary educational federal grant designed to help poorer income family), quadrupling the annual loan volume, and a reduction of questions in the annual FAFSA form which would make it easier for people to apply.
Also, as Kantrowitz bluntly puts it, "What the legislation does for current students and current borrows is pretty much nothing."
Of course, given how closely linked the Student Loan Bill was with the Health Care Bill made it just as contentious an issue, with Democrats, who ultimately passed the bill, claiming that it's a great achievement, while Republicans bemoaning it.
The office of Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said that, "The reason we opposed the student loan bill is because it was put in with the health care bill” and “The bill received no republican support because it was put in with the reconciliation package." In other words: Snowe was shouting down The Pervert Bill.
Utah's Orrin Hatch's press secretary, characteristically, was a bit more persnickety: "The reason the senator opposed the student loan bill is because it was included in a massive 25 trillion dollar government health care take over. So we can start there." We can also end there.
The spokesman of James E. Risch of Idaho took a vaguely conspiratorial tone when saying, "The alleged savings the government would make would be pumped back into the health care system."
Democrats see things differently. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire voted for the bill because her belief that it would help those middle and lower class students who deserved to further their education, who simply couldn't afford the cost of loans necessary to do so.
But the Arkansas senator Blanche Lincoln voted nay, breaking from the pack. "She just dislikes the proponents and prospects of the bill," said Maria Gueria, PR, Senator Lincoln's office. The careful wording of the response doesn't exactly illuminate what the senator was opposed to. Was it the Health Care Bill or the Student Loan Bill? The Save Springfield Bill or the Pervert Bill?
But the practical implication seems to be far off. A Chase Bank Student Loan employee said that she didn't see there being a whole lot of change. And Wells Fargo, in an email, used ominous phrasing in stating that "We've anticipated this change and prepared for it for some time." Mark from FinAid.org puts the first truly different year for student loans being 2014. This seems a bit ineffectual, especially that one of Obama's chestnuts during his 2008 campaign was that he had "just" finished paying off his student loans. At least, with this delayed application, young candidates can be using that line for many years to come. And that seems, at least a little bit, perverted.
"Than it is unanimous," the crusty old white man (presumably the speaker of the house – the episode aired in 1995, when the House of Representatives was even crustier and whiter than it is now), "we are going to approve the bill to evacuate the town of Springfield in the great state of –"
He's interrupted by a younger white congressman.
"Wait a second – I want to tack on a rider to that bill: $30 million of tax payer money to support the Perverted Arts."
The speaker of the house resumes: "All in favor of the amended Springfield slash pervert bill?" He's met with a chorus of boos. "Bill defeated."
Why bring this up, besides to remind us all how much better The Simpsons was back in 1995?
Well, it seems that the Student Financial Aid Bill, which many see as something that piggybacked onto the much more widely discussed Health Care Reform Bill, was actually the earlier bill. To put it in The Simpsons terms, the Health Care Bill was actually the pervert bill.
As Mark Kantrowitz, from FinAid.org, puts it, "It would be more accurate to say that the health care bill was included in the student loan legislation." As he explains it, the student loan bill, which passed in congress on September 17th was latched onto by the Health Care Reform bill, Kantrowitz says, "because there can only be one budget reconciliation bill per budget cycle."
But the amalgam of Student Aid and Health Care left the Student Aid side of things to lose massive amounts of funding. "29-30 billion dollars in savings in the legislation was no longer able to be spent on student aid," Kantrowitz explained.
The newly passed Student Aid Bill, the most radical change in policy since the original bill was developed as part of the G.I. Bill (itself a response to the technological escalation between America and the USSR during the space race), has lost some of its key selling points, among them an increase in Pell Grant money (a post-secondary educational federal grant designed to help poorer income family), quadrupling the annual loan volume, and a reduction of questions in the annual FAFSA form which would make it easier for people to apply.
Also, as Kantrowitz bluntly puts it, "What the legislation does for current students and current borrows is pretty much nothing."
Of course, given how closely linked the Student Loan Bill was with the Health Care Bill made it just as contentious an issue, with Democrats, who ultimately passed the bill, claiming that it's a great achievement, while Republicans bemoaning it.
The office of Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) said that, "The reason we opposed the student loan bill is because it was put in with the health care bill” and “The bill received no republican support because it was put in with the reconciliation package." In other words: Snowe was shouting down The Pervert Bill.
Utah's Orrin Hatch's press secretary, characteristically, was a bit more persnickety: "The reason the senator opposed the student loan bill is because it was included in a massive 25 trillion dollar government health care take over. So we can start there." We can also end there.
The spokesman of James E. Risch of Idaho took a vaguely conspiratorial tone when saying, "The alleged savings the government would make would be pumped back into the health care system."
Democrats see things differently. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire voted for the bill because her belief that it would help those middle and lower class students who deserved to further their education, who simply couldn't afford the cost of loans necessary to do so.
But the Arkansas senator Blanche Lincoln voted nay, breaking from the pack. "She just dislikes the proponents and prospects of the bill," said Maria Gueria, PR, Senator Lincoln's office. The careful wording of the response doesn't exactly illuminate what the senator was opposed to. Was it the Health Care Bill or the Student Loan Bill? The Save Springfield Bill or the Pervert Bill?
But the practical implication seems to be far off. A Chase Bank Student Loan employee said that she didn't see there being a whole lot of change. And Wells Fargo, in an email, used ominous phrasing in stating that "We've anticipated this change and prepared for it for some time." Mark from FinAid.org puts the first truly different year for student loans being 2014. This seems a bit ineffectual, especially that one of Obama's chestnuts during his 2008 campaign was that he had "just" finished paying off his student loans. At least, with this delayed application, young candidates can be using that line for many years to come. And that seems, at least a little bit, perverted.
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