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USSA
Continued from Page 1
Mend government recommits itself to higher <td
ucatlon"
The Oregon Student Lobby has also put much
time and effort into making the needs of students
known to Congress
OSL is currently working on a letter writing
campaign and Executive Assistant Kate Menard
encourages students to write to senators and rep
resentatives
'"Students need to lie aware that they don’t
need to know every detail about the Higher Ed
Act to be effective," she said. "Wo encourage stu
dents to tell their own stories in their own words
Talk about how you have or have not been served
by the financial aid system."
Menard said she has no indication at litis point
of how Oregon's senators and congressmen will
vote, hut said that Sen Mark Hatfield and Rep
Les AuCoin are especially noteworthy because
both sit on Appropriations Committees.
Shnh said if the Houm' bill passes 11s is, it will
open a door now dosed to miinv people.
"If our proposals go into effect, we'll isi chang
ing access to higher education into the end of the
century,” she said
Hatfield's address is 711 Hart Senate Office
Building, Washington DC. 20510. AuCoin's ad
dress is 2159 Rayburn House Office Building,
Washington D C 20515.
The state's other senator. Bob Packwood, can
be reached at 25l> Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington D.C. 20510.
Congressman Bob Smith's address is 118 Can
non Office Building, Washington D.C 20515.
Congressman Ron Wyden's address is 2452 Ray
burn House Office Building, Washington D.C.
20515 (Congressman Peter DeFazio’s address is
1232 Longworth House Office Building Washing
ton D C 20515. Congressman Mike Kopetski can
be reached at 1520 Longworth House Office
Building, Washington D.C. 20515.
LOANS
Continued from Page 1
Although few people do it, de
faulting on a student loan is se
rious business, said US Bank,
student loan officer Laurie Al
brecht
"Not only does it ruin your
credit, but the government can
garnish your wages or hold
your income tax return,” Al
brecht said.
She added that once some
one defaults on a loan, they t an
never gel another government
loan
In general, student loans go
into default after six months of
non-puvment Default status is
irreversible and once reached,
the choices of the debtor be
come very grim He or she must
pay the full amount past due or
the entire balance owed on the
loan, Albrecht said
Thu primary reason students
default on their loans is, as one
might guess, an inability to pay
"A lot of them say they
didn’t get a job in their field
and they don't feel that they
should pay the loan back. Al
brecht said
Albrecht said this is especial
ly true ol students who attend
ed trade si bools that promise to
help their graduates find jobs
Umirr the proposed Income
Dependent Education Assis
tance Ait recently introduced
by Hep Tom Petri K-W'is . for
mer students would repay stu
dent loans based on income al
ter leaving school.
However, the problem of stu
dent loan default is a relatively
minor problem that gets more
press and congressional atten
tion than it deserves, Leyton
silid
DSSA Legislative Director
Selena Dong said she believes
attention should bo focused on
the way the current system dis
criminates against low-income
students, many of whom come
from groups that are tradition
ally underrepresented in higher
education
According to the t'SSA, the
"1 Undergraduate Completion
and Persistence at Hour Year
Colleges and Universities" re
port, conducted in 19H9, re
Sraled students who receive
grants are more likely to stay in
si hooi than those who do not
Out of the students who did
not receive a grant during their
first year, only 75 percent re
turned tor the second semester.
That rate ssas even lower lor
Alritan-Amerii an students,
who had .1 return rate of liO per
cent
However, according to the re
port, (K) percent of all students
who received a grant during
their first year were still en
rolled during the second semes
ter.
"We’re not doing enough to
keep people in school,” Dong
said.
Dong said that (10 percent of
students who default on their
loans never finished school,
and for that reason were unable
to find decent jobs to pay off
their debts.
Dong also said that low-in
come people, people of color,
and people who come from
families without college educa
tion are often intimidated and
deterred hy tier financial bur
den imposed by student loans.
According to the IJSSA, as
grants declined in the liiHO's,
so did the enrollment of stu
dents of color and low-income
students.
For those who do make it
through on loans, post-gradua
tion choices are often dictated
by financial concerns, Dong
said
Dong believes student loan
borrowers are more reluctant to
go into low paving professions
such as community service and
teaching
"The loss to our country is
enormous," she said
IDEA may ease loan repayment
By Dan bisler
EfTiofaki Contfibu
The crushing financial bur
dens of repaying federal loans
alter graduation may lie lifted if
Congress approves a pending
reform bill
The Income-Dependent edu
cation Assistance Ac 1 would es
tablish a self-financing loan
program providing direct gov
ernment loans to students, w ith
after-grad uut ion repay ment
based on income.
IDEA, introduced by Kep
Tom Petri, K-VVis., and co
sponsored by 05 other repre
sentatives, including Oregon
Democrat Mike Kopetski, is ex
pected to soon receive a bear
ing before both the House Edu
cation and Labor and the Ways
and Means Committees, said
George; Conant, Petri's legisla
tive assistant
The bill would provide loans
up to a lifetime limit of $70,000
for most college and graduate
level students and up to
S1-1 d.000 for medical students
Students entering the medical
profession have an earning his
tory that can support the higher
level of borrowing, Conant
said.
Undergraduates could bor
row up to Sti.500 a year for
their first and second years at
college, and as much as $8,000
,i war for their third, fourth
and lifth years. Conant said
Graduate students could bor
row up to SI 1 ,<)IM) a year.
A minimum of $5(K) could be
borrowed under IDEA, with a
maximum limit set by the at
tend,iru e costs of a given higher
education institution, he said.
The total amount of money
available from IDEA is calculat
ed by adding up the money a
student could borrow from oth
er federal loan programs, and
subtracting those programs'
fees, Conant said.
The Treasury Department
then automatically approves
the loans, as long as the request
is at or below the cost of atten
dance or the yearly loan limits,
after co-signlng with the insti
tutions and the students. This
is to guarantee students are ac
tually enrolled, he said.
Additionally, students are el
igible for the program regard
less of their families' income
levels, Conant said.
In fact, not only are students
from high-income families eli
gible for IDEA loans, "we actu
ally want students in high-in
come brackets, because then
(they make) larger loan repay
ments to offset the cost from
students who have trouble; find
ing a job after graduation," Co
nant said
' That's the beauty of H,“ he
said '‘Right now, middle-in
come students .ire stuit out, and
(this arrangement) solves the
problem."
Moreover, even with the ex
panded number of students rc
eeiving financial aid, the pro
gram will save money, at a con
servative estimate of S250 mil
lion yearly, Conam said
IDEA will cover its costs un
der the income-dependent ap
proach, in which former stu
dents would repay the Joans
based on their incomes after
leaving school IDKA loan pay
ments would bo calculated and
collected by the IKS as part of
former students’ income taxes.
The payments would be cal
culated according to graduated
tax brackets, with the lowest
bracket at 5 percent of income
and the highest at 19 percent.
Conant said.
"There would be no fixed re
payment schedule. Kuthur, re
payment would automatically
be stretched out as long as peo
ple need it to be," said 1’etri, a
member of the House Educa
tion and Labor Committee.
"Those with high incomes af
ter leaving school would be ex
pected to repay relatively
quickly at slightly higher effec
tive interest rates that would
help to subsidize those with
Tom to IDEA, Page 9