Jeff Sandstoe / Roundup
Members of the Pierce College Associated Student Organization were in Washington D.C. last weekend voicing concern to California state senators about a bill to change financial aid.
The main incentive of this trip was meeting with California state senators Dianne Feinstein (D) and Barbara Boxer (D) to discuss the pending Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA).
The SAFRA is a bill that would restructure the way current financial aid is distributed.
Student loans distributed through the FAFSA are provided by banks that in turn make a profit off of the interest.
If the bill passes, the government would then be responsible for giving out loans directly through the Department of Education’s Federal Direct Loan program. The government would then be the entity making profit off of the interest, according to Bruce Simms, chair of the ASO’s Shared Governance committee.
Currently, the loans given by the banks are federally backed, meaning if a student should default on payment, the government would step in and cover the immediate debt.
The downside of this bill, according to Bruce Simms, is that while the amount of Pell Grants — which are available for students who have a total family income of less than $40,000 — is projected to increase, the amount of student loans is scheduled to decrease.
“The government is now going into the banking industry,” said ASO President Shani Simms as she voiced reservations about the bill.
According to Bruce Simms, the meeting with Feinstein went well and she listened attentively to the students as they voiced their concerns. However, when meeting with Boxer, Bruce Simms said they met a lot of resistance.
“They stuck their attack dogs on us,” he said.
Boxer was reportedly hostile to the apprehensions of ASO members’ concerns about the decrease of available student loans.
Shani Simms also said she had spoken to students from New York, a state where students’ financial aid is already being provided by the Federal Direct Loan program. She said that reportedly the amount of money students received was significantly lower than in previous years, in some cases as little as half the previous amount.
“The government is already so involved, it would save $87 billion a year,” said Cindy Gerges, ASO Club Council president and one of the representatives in favor of the bill.
Shani Simms disagreed with this notice.
“The point of the government is not to make a profit off of its citizens,” she said.
The bill has passed in the House of Representatives and is headed to the Senate for further voting.
During the span of the trip, ASO members also attended a leadership seminar provided by the American Student Association of Community Colleges.
ASO president Shani Simms hosted a workshop called “Hosting Successful Events,” in which she provided attendees with steps for planning, funding and hosting events.
Bruce Simms also led a workshop called “Rise to the Challenge.”