| As much as I respect Senator Nelson, it was only a matter of time until President Obama got fed up with his actions. In his new role as Nebraska's senior Senator, Ben Nelson has taken an active role in opposing several of the Administrations key initiatives. His latest battle with President Obama has been over student loans, an industry close to the state of Nebraska and Sen. Nelson.
 As Huffington Post's Ryan Grim reported yesterday evening:
Nelson is perhaps the Senate's fiercest protector of subsidies for student lending institutions, which, not coincidentally, are an engine of job growth in Nebraska. He has vowed to block any effort to reduce those subsidies. And given that Democrats have 58 members and generally need 60 to break a GOP filibuster, he can enforce his will on his colleagues.
An agreement struck between the president and House and Senate negotiators won't give Nelson that chance. A process known as "reconciliation" allows budgetary measures to be moved through the Senate with a simple majority, rather than 60. Multiple congressional sources say that congressional Democrats have decided to use reconciliation to go after student-lending subsidies, specifically to get around Nelson.
I'm torn on this. On the one hand, President Obama's plan to essentially cut out banks and businesses like Nelnet is a good program that will help make college more affordable. On the other hand, this proposal will probably be the end of Nelnet and around 1,000 jobs in Nebraska.
At the end of the day, while I agree with Senator Nelson's sentiment, I want to make college affordable for as many college students as possible; including myself. President Obama's proposal does just that. If there is a way to include Nelnet, or at least take care of their employees, then that is preferable. Senator Nelson isn't wrong, but he's certainly not right either.
As for the President's move to marginalize Nelson on this debate, I'm okay with it. Using reconciliation is an acceptable Senate tactic and I firmly believe that the Administration should use all tactics to push their agenda. I have a feeling we'll see his used on Republican as well. |
