More Issues In the News

A vice president of Sallie Mae wrote a letter attempting to position the student-loan giant as an agent of change when it comes to federal student-loan reform ("Sallie Mae supports student-loan reform," Friday). Yet it fights a proposal being put forth by President Obama and the U.S. House that would divert $87 billion in subsidies from banks and instead spend it on desperately needed student aid. Facing budget cuts on campus and few job prospects after college, borrowers must choose to go even deeper into debt to get a college degree, or to drop out. They could use billions in financial aid that they do not have to repay after graduation.

Sallie Mae has proposed a different plan, one that would ensure that it and other banks would continue to receive billions and billions in subsidies for making student loans. Let's overhaul our student-loan program in the way that our federal leaders have proposed, and use the savings to help students rather than maintaining a sweetheart deal for lenders like Sallie Mae.

Megan DeSmedt

State director

Pennsylvania Public Interest

Research Group (PennPIRG)

Philadelphia

mdesmedt@pennpirg.org