🚀 go-pugleaf

NAGPS Legislative Alert
January 14, 1998

**  1998/99 Budget Battles Begin
**  Contact White House to Help Save Low Interest Perkins Loans
**  Lobby Day Reminder - February 5, 1998 **
**  Email to Fax Gateway Announced, Available by February 5 **


FY 1999 BUDGET

Figures and proposals are just now being released by the White House for 
the President's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 1999 (October 1, 1998 to 
September 30, 1999).  This proposal will go to Congress, which will 
review and debate it and versions proposed by Members of Congress.  The 
President's budget proposal is a key first step in the process by which 
the US government decides upon spending priorities.

PERKINS LOANS IN JEOPARDY
While there are many excellent initiatives in the President's budget,
NAGPS has learned that the Clinton Administration plans to call for the
elimination of all new funding for the Perkins Loan program when it
releases its FY 1999 budget in early February.  This information comes
just three months after the administration publicly pledged they would not
take such action now or ever.  The administration claims that modest
increases in other campus-based aid programs justify the elimination of
this program.  However, the Perkins Loans funds are believed to be more
than $150 million per year, and increases to Campus Work Study, for
example, are only $70 million.

VALUE OF PERKINS LOANS
Perkins Loans provide nearly 700,000 low-cost loans annually to low-income
students whose borrowing needs are greater than the limits set by the
Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the Federal Direct Loan
Program.  The department claims that the program is redundant, overly
complex, unpopular on campus, and overly regulated.  The students who
receive these valuable loans don't consider them redundant - they provide
students up to $3,000 per year of need-based student aid, at a lower
interest rate than FFELP and Direct Lending.  If the programs are complex
and overly regulated, they should be deregulated, not destroyed.  Your
calls will show that Perkins is indeed a valued and popular program. 

GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS BENEFIT
Graduate & professional students benefit from Perkins Loans on many
campuses.  Perkins loan funds add flexibility to the options available to
campus financial aid administrators.  Reduced capital contributions from
the federal government, particularly in this era of rapidly growing
student loan debt, will ultimately hamper the ability of campuses to
provide alternatives to Stafford Loans.  New campuses will suffer, as will
growing campuses and those campuses seeking innovative ways to restructure
their campus-based aid programs

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Please take a moment to contact any of the officials identified below and 
express your opposition to reductions in Perkins Loans Capital Contributions.
Your message could be a variation of the following:

"Perkins Loans programs have a unique role in student aid.  The additional
resources they provide cannot be subsumed under other programs.  The
additional $3,000 available through Perkins Loans gives campus faincnail
aid administrators the flexibility they need to meet the special needs of
low-income students by providing less expensive loans or supplementing
federal loans for students whose borrowing needs are greater than the
limits set by the Stafford Loan Program.  Please rethink your decision to 
eliminate capital contributions to this important program." 

When you deliver your message, include specific references to the fact
that you are a graduate/student (if you are), and ask that the White House
offer special support proposals to increase grant, fellowship and loan
funds for graduate/professional students.  Thank the President for his 
ongoing support of education and express your hope that he will extend 
this support to Perkins Loans.  Also express your disappointment that the 
Administration has reneged on a promise to "hold harmless" the student 
aid programs.

Contacts:

Deputy Sec of Education Marshall Smith, (202) 401-1000 or fax (202) 401-0596
Natl Economic Advisor Gene Sperling, (202) 456-6630 or fax (202) 456-2223
Bob Shireman, White House, (202) 456-2800 or fax (202) 456-2223
Assoc Dir of Human
	Resources, OMB, Barbara Chow, (202) 395-4844 or fax (202) 395-5730

Thanks to the Council of Graduate Schools and the Committee for Education 
Funding for providing the bulk of the information above.

############

Graduate/Professional Student Lobby Day - February 5, 1998
Co-sponsored by NAGPS, the American Association of Dental Schools and the 
American Medical Student Association

Special Message from NAGPS Legislative Concerns Coordinator, J.B. Lawton 
III, Ohio State University:

"Lobby Day is coming up in three weeks, and we need YOUR help.  If NAGPS
and our partners are going to be as successful as we were last summer in
our legislative efforts, then we need to make this event work.  Details
are below.  Email me at lcc@nagps.org to find out how you can get
involved. 

* What:		Lobby Day

* When:		Thursday, Feb. 5th

* Who:		NAGPS, AADS, AMSA, and anyone else interested in
graduate/professional student issues

* Why:		There are lots of reasons to talk to Congress now.  For
instance, the Higher Education Act is up for reauthorization, education is
becoming a high priority for both Congress and the White House, and budgets
are being re-examined in light of a possible surplus.  There is no better
time to remind Congress about the importance of graduate and professional
education.

* Where:	Capitol Hill and across the country.  (If you can join us
in DC, great!  If not, get involved from home through phone calls, faxes,
emails, and visits to your Congressional delegation's home offices.)

* How:		You've got several ways to participate:  You can: 1) Book
your flight now to DC 'cause the rates are great right now!  2) If you're
coming to DC, call your Senators and Representative right now and ask to
meet with them on the 5th to talk about higher education issues; 3) Whether
you're coming to DC or not, you can help spread the word about Lobby Day
and organize your fellow students.  Email me at lcc@nagps.org and I'll
be happy to let you know more about any of this.

###########

NAGPS Announces Email-to-Fax Gateway for Washington, DC

The NAGPS web site will soon feature an email-to-fax gateway designed to 
offer graduate/professional students and our allies the opportunity to 
fax members of congress directly via our web site.  This feature will be 
operational in time for our February 5 Lobby Day, so campuses planning on 
participating "remotely" can begin to alert grad students to this feature 
of the web site.  We will prominently direct people to the gateway on 
February 4, 5 and 6th.

*========================================================================*
| >>>> The National Association of Graduate - Professional Students <<<< |
|           825 Green Bay Road, Suite 270    PHONE: 847-256-1562         |
|           Wilmette, IL 60091                FAX:  847-256-8954         |
|          Toll Free 1-888-88-NAGPS * Email to: NAGPS@NETCOM.COM         |
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
|	NAGPS 13th National Conference - Braintree, Massachusetts        |
|			 November 19 - 22, 1998				 |
+-----------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| To access the "members only" NAGPS Internet Job Bank, Grants Page, or  |
|Fellowship/Scholarship Databank, follow links & complete automated forms|
*-----------------------------------+------------------------------------*
|  ####         WWW Site >  http://www.nagps.org/NAGPS/            ####  |
*========================================================================*
___________________________________________________________________________
 This message |   *** *** *** Stop the Raid on Student Aid! *** *** ***  
 sent via the | Send your letter to SAVE-STUDENT-AID@NETCOM.COM -- NAGPS 
 NAGPS E-mail | will print it and hand-deliver it to your Member(s) of
 Server       |                         Congress                      
--