Cuts in federal student loan programs as a result of recent legislation could significantly affect the college education of millions of Americans. The legislation cuts $ 12 billion from financial aid programs. Student loan consolidation is also affected and will affect students looking to consolidate high-interest loans. This is not good news for the students or the parents of the students.
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, S. 1932, which was enacted in February. President Bush’s 8 continues to come under fire. Another lawsuit to declare the legislation unconstitutional was filed on April 28 by Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-MI, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, joined in the lawsuit by 10 members of Congress, including Rep. George Miller, D-CA, senior member of the House Education and Workforce Committee.
The first lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the bill was filed in February. 13 by Jim Zeigler, Republican activist and Mobile, Alabama, senior law attorney. Public Citizen, a Washington-based nonprofit consumer advocacy group, submitted its own follow-up on March 21 to declare the Deficit Reduction Act unconstitutional.
Different versions of the legislation
According to Democrats, the House and Senate passed different versions of the legislation, making the bill unconstitutional. The House passed a version of the bill that included funding for 36 months of durable medical equipment and the Senate version contained only 13 months. As a constitutional requirement, both the House and Senate must sign identical versions of a bill before the president enacts it.
“Once again, the Administration is playing fast and loose with the Constitution. Anyone who has passed sixth grade knows that before a bill becomes law, both Houses of Congress must pass it. Let the Bush Administration say now otherwise underscores the crisis we face in this country, “Conyers said in a press release issued April 27 from his office. “Over 200 years of legal precedent dictates that such discrepancies can be handled simply by refilling the paperwork or re-voting the entire bill. All costs.”
Conyers follows the names of anyone responsible for the budget, which includes Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and President Bush along with other parties responsible for enacting the budget cuts required by the Deficit Reduction Act, according to Democratic aides.
With his lawsuit, Conyers is calling for the entire bill to be declared unconstitutional and therefore not law, Democratic aides said. The lawsuit requests that a provisional restraining order be established to prohibit the enactment of the law.
“Republican leaders were in such a rush to pass this bill in Congress and get the president to sign it, they violated the Constitution in the process,” Miller said in the press release. “And they were in a rush because it was a very, very bad bill. They wanted to spend as little time as possible explaining their retrograde priorities, like cutting $ 12 billion from college student financial aid programs, to their constituents.”
The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District Court of Michigan, case No. 2: 06-CV-11972. Judge Nancy Edmunds is scheduled to preside over the case; however, it is not known when the case will become known.
Education is the foundation on which any great civilization is built, and this is certainly the case in the United States. When educational opportunities are eliminated, this foundation can be eroded. That is why we must take steps to declare the Deficit Reduction Law unconstitutional. I believe that education is the best investment anyone can make and I am dedicated to helping people pursue their educational dreams by making college financing as easy as possible.
