Lamnidae

I let myself get a little carried away pickin’ on the BS Cairn crowd because it’s so fun seeing how sensitive they are about part-time Iverson. Nevertheless, some important developments have taken place in the last few days on the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) front.

After it was reported recently that the Student Assistance Foundation of Montana and its financing entity, the Montana Higher Education Student Assistance Corp. were facing their first ever projected operating loss, the state’s Democratic delegation took swift action to address the problem. Senators Baucus and Tester pushed the Treasury and Education Secretaries to immediately address the needs of the higher education loan market. Those offices responded this week with an endorsement of a House plan to allow for the government to provide the capital necessary to make new loans. To Rep. Rehberg’s credit, he got up off the couch, dusted off the mustache and voted for this provision.

An important note in the whole affair is Gov. Schweitzer’s reaffirmed commitment to having the SAF and MHESAC follow Montana’s open meetings laws, and explain why they’ve been buying and selling securities that had nothing to do with Montana college students. This sort of free-wheeling is what got Wall Street in the credit and liquidity crisis in the first place. In the end, it looks like Montana students will be fine in the imminent future. As someone returning to graduate school this fall, it’s nice to know that Senators Baucus and Tester are working to make sure that funding will be there, and Gov. Schweitzer is keeping tabs on that money’s responsible management.

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