Sallie Mae Has Spent Millions Fighting President's Student-Loan Plan (Chronicle of Higher Education)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Kelly Field

Washington

Sallie Mae, the nation's largest student-loan company, spent $2-million on lobbying in the first half of this year in an effort to persuade lawmakers to consider alternatives to President Obama's plan to end bank-based lending to students and replace it with direct lending, according to an analysis by The Huffington Post.

The lender, which is pushing a counterproposal that would allow student-loan companies to originate loans before selling them to the government, has hired several Washington-based lobbying firms, including a group led by Tony Podesta, a top Democratic fund raiser with longstanding ties to members of Congress. But its key hire was Jamie Gorelick, a deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration and partner in the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr. The firm billed Sallie Mae $270,000 for its work in the first half of 2009, according to the analysis.

Sallie Mae spent $3.4-million lobbying last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. It also showered campaign contributions on individual members of Congress, including $26,150 for Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania, chairman of the House Financial Services Commitee and a key Democratic ally, and $10,000 on moderate "Blue Dog" Democrats. Among Democrats, the Blue Dogs have been the most vocal in their opposition to the president's plan, warning of job losses that could result from a switch to 100-percent direct lending.
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http://chronicle.com/article/Sallie-Mae-Has-Spent-Millions/47511/

[aquart]

1. Please tell me why this is legal?

[bbinacan]

3. Why should it

be illegal?

[Pirate Smile]

2. Guess who else is a big Sallie Mae supporter - Ben Nelson. WH already told Nelson they

would push it through during reconciliation.

Hmmm - maybe Nelso wants to filibuster the budget reconciliation bill because of the Student Loan crap more so then the Health Care Reform.

[sandyd921]

4. Nice to know how they're spending my monthly payment money.

It's time to take the damn profit out of the student loan business! :grr: It's also time to let corporatist Democrats know that we're watching their every step and we know what they're up to.

[Fire1]

5. Agree. n/t

[glinda]

6. We should sue them so as to lower our payments or reduce the debts.

[harmonicon]

9. there needs to be a complete overhaul

The US should institute a system like there is here in the UK where payments are based on income level after you finish your degree. Right now I'm something like 40 grand in debt just from my Master's degree with no sign of having even a halfway decent job after I finish my PhD in a year. I recently came into some money (about 2 grand) and thought about putting it into my student loans, but it just seems futile to pay down the balance only a little when I have no hope of ever paying off the rest.

[glinda]

11. It is futile. I will be dead before mine is paid off.

[boppers]

7. 126 billion dollars in their portfolio, 12,000 employees.

As a private company, it would be borderline negligent for them not to fight to stay alive.

That being said, I hope they lose. GSE's like Sallie/Freddy/Fannie have a way of getting too big, too financially dangerous, and too risky, requiring legislative intervention.

[Captain Hilts]

8. Unforgivable. nt

[spanone]

10. if we were a righteous nation we would ban lobbyists from existence..

[MrsBrady]

12. f'em

my last semester in school is being funded by a direct government loan....and i got more money too. f'em.

Sallie mae will get my money soon enough when I graduate in December....my other loans are through them...*sigh*