Student loans: Romney, congressional GOP race to embrace students
As President Obama puts a spotlight on student loans, Mitt Romney says that he, too, supports extending the 3.4 percent interest rate 鈥� and blames the president for poor job prospects for college graduates.
In this August 2011 file photo, Students attend graduation ceremonies at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. President Obama can take credit for putting the national spotlight on the issue of federally subsidized student loans, while Mitt Romney says that he, too, supports extending the 3.4 percent interest rate, set to increase at the beginning of July.
Butch Dill/AP/File
Washington
College students may not have quite joined motherhood and apple pie in the pantheon of bulletproof American icons quite yet 鈥� but the speed at which Republicans raced to join Democrats in talking about college education (and young voters) suggests that the political apotheosis of the college student is well on its way.
Democrats can take credit for putting the national spotlight on the issue of federally subsidized student loans, whose interest rates are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent at the beginning of July. President Obama鈥檚 campaign has been shining its bright light on the issue since last Friday, an emphasis that coincides with the president鈥檚 trips to universities in North Carolina and Colorado Tuesday and a college stop in Iowa Wednesday.
Republicans, who may sense a chance to chip away at Mr. Obama鈥檚 massive advantage among young voters from 2008, weren鈥檛 going to be left behind. On Monday, GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney said he supported an extension of the lower loan rates.
But, as is the wont of both political parties, simply agreeing with one鈥檚 opponent is simply not enough. So the GOP knew what to do when the showing that nearly 50 percent of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed.
Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus that the piece revealed the 鈥淪ad reality of Obamanomics鈥� 鈥撀� that 鈥測oung Americans are learning there aren鈥檛 jobs for them after graduation.鈥� House majority leader Eric Cantor . And Rep. Tom Graves (R) of Georgia to wonder, 鈥渨ill they vote for Obama in 2012?鈥� given such poor employment figures.
Mr. Romney, too, jumped on the pile while campaigning in Pennsylvania. 鈥淲hen you look at 50 percent of the kids coming out of college today can鈥檛 find a job or can鈥檛 find a job which is consistent with their skills,鈥� he said, 鈥渉ow in the world can you be supporting a president that鈥檚 led to that kind of an economy?鈥�
Tuesday dawned with a Romney campaign conference call highlighting some of the party鈥檚 own young people 鈥� 30-year-old Rep. Aaron Schock (R) of Illinois and Alex Schriver, chairman of the College Republican National Committee 鈥� to discuss how poorly young Americans have fared under Obama.
That led the liberal "super political-action committee" American Bridge to splice together of Romney telling various college students all the ways they should either pay for college or choose a college, none of which involve his support for subsidized student loans.
鈥淚 know that it would be popular for me to stand up and say, 鈥業鈥檓 going to give you government money to help pay for your college,鈥� 鈥� Romney says in one clip. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 not going to promise that.鈥�
What remains to be seen, however, is whether congressional Republicans will make that promise. Senate majority leader Harry Reid said the upper chamber will take up legislation that would keep interest rates down in two weeks, when the Senate returns from its next scheduled home work period.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D) of Iowa told reporters on a conference call Monday that a key sticking point in the Senate was determining where to find the $6 billion necessary to continue lower rates for a year. Senator Harkin said he hoped to have a draft proposal for such a measure completed by Friday.