Dear Editor,
The day after the president's State of the Union address, in which George W. Bush equated good jobs with a good education and promised an increased investment in our future, Congress voted to move the country in exactly the opposite direction by passing a $39.5 billion budget cut - despite Democratic resistance.
Nearly one third of these cuts directly affect college students by increasing loan costs and raising interest rates.
They come at a time when more students are turning to loans to pay for their educations, and the amount the average student borrows continues to grow.
The bill, written mostly by and for wealthy lobbyists, will increase the average Indiana student's loans by $1,763 at a time when tuition is already up $2,052 at Indiana public universities since 2000. Students and families are expected to pay these rising costs while they face lay-offs and other benefit cuts. In addition, the average Indiana undergraduate currently leaves college $4,980 in debt. This bill could increase interest rate costs for some students by more than $3,000.
Shamefully, Rep. Mike Pence - whose district includes Ball State - was among the strongest proponents of the bill. He told the New York Times the vote was "an important first step toward restoring public confidence in the fiscal integrity of our national legislature."
However, as Rolling Stone magazine recently reported, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas told lobbyists the budget cuts were needed to help pay for $90 billion in new tax cuts. While others have estimated the cost of the tax cuts at between $70 billion and $90 billion, the result of the Deficit Reduction Act, as the article states, will be an increase in the deficit. This is more debt being saddled on the backs of our generation.
In addition to the education cuts, the bill slashes funding for programs like health care and welfare. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will impose Medicaid increases on 13 million recipients and end insurance coverage for 65,000 people. Many women who rely on welfare may face longer work hours, and $1.6 billion was cut from child-support collection programs, pushing more children into poverty.
Republicans have declared war on our country's most vulnerable citizens while offering few, if any, concessions from their own ineffective legislation and pork-barrel programs. If we are worried about out-of-control budgets and spending, it is strictly because Republicans have led us down this path.
In addition to Pence, the six other Republican representatives of Indiana voted in favor of this despicable bill - including Dan Burton, Steve Buyer, Chris Chocola, John Hostettler, Mike Sodrel and Mark Souder.
We ask that you remember these Republican Representatives not only when you are paying the extra thousands of dollars on your student loans, but also in the voting booth this November.
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