Roger Wicker Says College Is Valuable, But Is Unwilling To Assist Students In Paying

DSCC:

In a column in (Cotton Mouth Note: (in his weekly column statewide)), Roger Wicker touts his position on the Community College Caucus and praises the “important role community colleges play in our educational system.” But Wicker has voted against higher education initiatives throughout his career, including the very Pell Grant funding that he says plays an “integral role in the success of our community colleges.” Wicker has even been the lone member of the Mississippi delegation to oppose proposals that would save students and taxpayers money.

“It’s great that Roger Wicker says he supports higher education, but it’d be a lot more helpful to Mississippians if he actually voted in support of it,” DSCC spokesman Matthew Miller said. “Penning a column from his Washington office won’t generate the results that families in Mississippi want and need. With the rising cost of college a major concern for all families, maybe Roger Wicker should spend more time fighting for the people of Mississippi and less time spouting empty rhetoric.”

Wicker: “We Must Slow The Rate” Of Student Loans. "We have to deal with the deficit on two fronts, we must slow the rate of growth of mandatory entitlement programs like student loans, Medicare and Medicaid, that's where the money is. Those programs have been growing at twice the rate of inflation ... growth on the appropriations side has been flat the last two years," Wicker said in 2005. [AP, 12/27/05]
Wicker Has Voted At Least Nine Times Against Pell Grant Funding. [Vote 864, 9/7/07; House Appropriations Committee Markup, 6/13/06; Vote 301, 6/24/04; AP, 6/25/04; Washington Times, 6/25/04; House Appropriations Committee Markup, 6/9/04; House Appropriations Committee Markup, 6/25/03; Vote 415, 7/19/00; House Appropriations Committee Markup, 5/24/00; Vote 124, 5/5/98; House Appropriations Subcommittee Markup, 6/13/96]
Wicker Voted Against Largest Student Aid Increase Since the GI Bill. In September 2007, Wicker voted against the bipartisan bill to boost financial aid for college students by cutting some $20 billion in government subsidies to banks that make student loans. The bill also increased the maximum Pell Grant from $4,310 a year to $5,400 a year and would cut interest rates on federally backed student loans to poor and middle-class students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over four years. [Vote 864, 9/7/07; AP, 9/7/07]
Wicker Was Only Member of MS Delegation to Oppose Initial Student Loan Rate Cut Plan in 2007 That Could Save Students $2,300. In January 2007, Wicker was the only member of the Mississippi delegation to vote against the House student loan bill, which passed 356-71. The bill was“designed to cut interest rates on college loans, creating a plan that potentially could save students $2,300 over the course of a loan.” It cut the federal student loan rate from 6.8% to 3.4%, with the reduction sun setting after five years. [Vote 32, 1/17/07]
Wicker Voted For The Largest Cuts To Federal Student Aid In History At A Time Of Rising Tuition Costs. In 2006, Wicker voted for the largest cuts to federal student aid in history at a time of rising tuition costs. The measure cut $12.7 billion from student loan programs – the largest single cut in history. It imposed higher fees on students, increased the interest rate on parent loans and cut subsidies to lenders. The bill also put billions of dollars in student aid at risk by cutting all of the critical funds ($2.2 billion) used to carry out and administer the student aid programs. [Vote 4, 2/1/06; House Budget Committee Minority Staff, 12/19/05; Rep. George Miller Press Release, 12/18/05; CQ Today, 2/1/06; Washington Post, 2/1/06]
Wicker Voted Against Closing Student Loan Loophole. In 2005, Wicker was the only member of the Mississippi delegation to vote against closing a student loan loophole. The amendment Wicker voted against stopped a scam in the college student loan program that allowed certain lenders to pocket billions of dollars in excess profits at the expense of both taxpayers and students. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the so-called “9.5% loan scam” cost taxpayers billions of dollars. The amendment closed this loophole ensuring that federal education dollars were available to help students and families afford college. The 9.5% guarantee was established in the high interest rate year of 1980. Congress intended for it to be phased out of existence beginning in 1993, but through a regulatory loophole, the guarantee continued. [Van Hollen Press Release, 6/24/05; Vote 316, 6/24/05]
Wicker Voted Against Making College More Affordable Through Tax Credits. In 1997, Wicker voted against amending the tax code to make college more affordable. The motion would have instructed House negotiators on the budget reconciliation bill to provide “$500-per-child tax credit to working families, support a HOPE Scholarship credit for the first two years of a college education, and include tax benefits for families paying tuition costs for the second two years of a college education out of wage and salary income.” [Vote 258, 7/10/97]

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