Friday, February 08, 2008

Bachmann votes against College Students...and more!

Our friends covering the first broke this story yesterday! Ollie writes about Tim Walz support for the College Opportunity and Affordability Act, HR 4137.

What does this bill do?
This landmark legislation would do the following things:

* Encourage colleges to rein in price increases and provide consumers with helpful information;
* Restore integrity and accountability to student loan programs;
* Simplify the federal student aid application process;
* Make textbook costs more manageable;
* Expand college access and support for low-income and minority students;
* Increase college aid and support for veterans and military families;
* Ensure equal college opportunities for students with disabilities;
* Boost campus safety and disaster readiness plans;
* Encourage colleges to adopt sustainable and energy-efficient practices;
* Strengthen our workforce and our competitiveness.

Congresswoman Bachmann joined Congressman Kline in voting against this bill.

They voted against accountability in student loan programs. You had to have seen that one coming if you have read Bachmann's FEC report.

They voted against working and middle class Minnesotans obtaining access to affordable and quality higher education opportunities.

They voted against Veterans! It took me more than 6 months to get my GI Bill benefits.

They voted against campus safety and sustainable energy practices on our campuses? With the vast amount of research done on our college campuses, innovative sustainable energy practices ought to be encouraged. Bachmann does not support innovation.

While I and many others worked to ensure students across the State of Minnesota have access to affordable and high quality higher education opportunities, Congresswoman Bachmann has proven once again that she is completely out of touch with her constituents in the 6th.

DJ at I Don't Hate America reports on the textbook portion of the bill.
During debate, Walz took to the floor today and evoked the name of our late colleague and friend, Jared Stene, who we here at IDHA had the privilege of serving beside in the Winona State Student Senate and working with to bring about awareness to the issues of textbook costs.

“Jared worked for years tirelessly on this issue to bring some transparency in how textbooks are marketed,” Walz said on the floor.

Having worked on the textbook issue as well, I am very pleased to see this addressed in this landmark piece of legislation.

Who is Congresswoman Bachmann working for? With more than $27,000 coming from her Financial Services PAC's, it's quite clear Congresswoman Bachmann supports her corporate cronies, leaving working and middle class Minnesotan's to fight for the scraps.

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