Join the United States Student Association in our fight to save Higher Education toda

[Nia Imani]

Action! Action! Action!
Join the United States Student Association in our fight to save Higher Education today!!!


Dear Friends of Higher Education,
Students and community members from across the country are waging campaigns on behalf of all student to defend and expand access to higher education in the United States. They are running these campaigns because higher education is on the chopping block at the federal level. This fall, as early as September, Congress will consider two bills that will dramatically decrease access to higher education.

1. Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The Higher Education Act (HEA) is the single piece of legislation that controls almost all federal higher education programs. The House will vote on a bill (H.R. 609) that represents the single largest cut in the history of student aid programs by: eliminating in-school loan consolidation, making fixed rate loan consolidation more expensive for students, creating a mandatory 1% fee for each student loan, taking away on-time repayment benefits, among many more changes.


2. Budget Reconciliation. Congress approved a budget resolution that will severely slash the student loan programs. Almost $9 billion will be cut from our programs. These cuts represent the elimination of many student borrower benefits, and will increase student debt by thousands of dollars. The budget reconciliation bill will finalize these cuts and must be voted on in the early fall.

CLICK HERE FOR USSA'S ORGANIZING PACKET ON HOW TO DO THE 6 THINGS THAT WILL TELL CONGRESS TO STOP THE RAID ON STUDENT AID!

1. Participate in the Sept. 20th Call-in Day!
September 20th is a coordinated Call-in Day for tons of national organizations working against H.R. 609 and Budget Reconciliation. Join thousands of others who care about higher education by calling your Members of Congress!!!

2. Sign the petition!
Go to http://www.unionvoice.com/campaign/ussa or scroll below to sign the petition that tells Congress you oppose these detrimental pieces of legislation! Don’t forget to also send it to your friends and family!

3. Pass a student government resolution and/or sign-on against the legislation!
With school beginning, we are asking student governments to pass resolutions against the bills. When the resolution is passed, send it to your school newspaper, your Members of Congress and USSA.

4. Do a lobby visit!
A lobby visit is the best way to make sure your representatives know they should vote against the bill. In Congress, every vote counts, so make sure your representative is present and voting in the best interest of students.

5. Submit a letter to the editor or opinion editorial!
One of our goals in this campaign is the spread the word so everyone knows about the vital votes that are happening in Congress. Submit them to your campus, local and statewide papers. The most read section of the newspaper is the opinion section, so make sure your community knows that students are against these bills.

6. Sign Your Organization on to the Campaign!
Send an e-mail to USSA Organizing Director, Jenn Brown, at od@usstudents.org to have your name added to the list of organizations who opposes these bills.


Contact USSA at 202-347-8772 or od@usstudents.org for more information.

Source: http://www.usstudents.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=7
http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/