Editorial: Grouping health with student loans a bad idea

For college students across the nation, the passage of health care reform just became a lot more important.

Before the week is out, Senate Democrats will most likely bundle health and student loan reform into the same reconciliation bill.

Senate reconciliation is a tactic that allows the upper chamber to debate legislation without fear of filibuster.

It is typically reserved for Federal budget and spending issues.

Pairing the two agendas allows the Senate to pass the legislation in question without bipartisan support and will be perhaps the only way to move forward with health reform since the election of Scott Brown (R-MA) eliminated the Democrats filibuster-proof majority.

Student loan reform, according to the White House, would greatly reduce subsidies for private lenders like Sallie Mae, potentially saving taxpayers around $67 billion over the next 10 years.

The plan would also prohibit private lenders from originating student educational loans.

Unfortunately, the move may make it more difficult to pass any reform at all.

According to CBS News, nine Democratic Senators would oppose the bill, mostly from states with thousands of employees in the private student loan industry.

States like New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Ohio would be hurt the most.

Senators from those states may remove their support for health care reform if any student lending measures are attached.

Allowing the federal government to take over the student loan industry may ultimately save taxpayers money while ensuring student borrowers of low and stable interest rates. But that seems unlikely.

Many students come to college without much in the way of financial knowledge, and are at times swindled into signing up for private loans with adjustable interest rates.

It's the nature of the industry.

Students are high-risks for lenders. That's why some private lenders offer students rates in the teens – to ensure that the lenders still make money.

Yet, the White House believes it will see long term savings by monopolizing the student loan industry.

While the federal government may not set out to
make money from student loans, we know how the government operates.

Without a profit-motive, many programs end up in the red.We want student loan reform.

Attaching it to health care as a last-ditch effort could very well end up delaying the much-needed reform at a time when financial stability is a necessity.