On Spratt's Side

I typically don't get political on here. Most people that know me, already know my political leanings and I try not to push that on anyone else. I have lots of friends on the other side of the issues and am glad to say that I don't let politics come before my friends.

For anyone that may not be aware, I was fortunate to participate in a Washington Semester program offered through my college. I spent a semester on Capitol Hill working in Rep. John Spratt's office. He's a 14 term Congressman representing the Rock Hill area in SC. I know I'm a little biased here,but I spent 4 months observing the man and he's definitely one of the good guys. Even some "R" friends (that will remain nameless) have serious respect for him. How else would he be able to win a republican district time and time again?

Mr. Spratt is up for reelection this year and like most districts around the country, it has potential to be a tough race. He has a proven record of advocating for his constituents on important issues (like the community health center program that I work for) while always being fiscally conservative and responsible. He's the chairman of the House Budget Committee and is incredibly careful with our precious public dollars. He's one of the smartest people I've ever been privileged enough to be around. And I for one want only the smartest people representing me! I wouldn't stand on the side of the road waving signs at on coming traffic honking their horns for just anyone!

I have to back up for a second and recognize that I would never have had the opportunity to spread my wings in DC if I didn't have loans to help me pay for college. I'm still paying them off, but sincerely believe that they're an investment for our country. Congressman Spratt just introduced a bill that would extend a federal loan program. Now more than ever, we need to invest in education to help us get out of our current economic mess. I definitely know that I would not be where I am today if it weren't for this loan program.

I wanted to show my support for Rep. Spratt and thank him for planting the seed in me to work in public policy on behalf of people that can't always speak for themselves. I can only dream of one day making as big a difference as he has! Check him out, and if you're so inclined, support him however you can!


Here's more info on the bill. Read it on his website here.

Spratt Introduces Bill to Continue Low-Income Students' Access to College and Preserve Thousands of Jobs

May 27, 2010 10:29 AM

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) today introduced legislation to extend the life of the Perkins Loan program, giving 500,000 low-income students greater access to college each year and providing jobs to thousands who administer and service the loans nationwide.

“Education is the engine of job creation and economic growth,” said Spratt. “By helping students attend college who otherwise might not be able to afford it, we are giving them the opportunity to succeed in today’s economy.

“In my district, two companies employ almost 300 people servicing Perkins loans, and the results speak for themselves: it’s a successful student aid program with a low default rate,” Spratt said.

The bipartisan Perkins Loan Extension Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Spratt and cosponsored by Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).

Bob Perrin, President of Williams & Fudge, Inc., a Perkins loan servicer in Rock Hill, South Carolina, said, “Williams & Fudge, Inc. is very thankful for Congressman Spratt’s leadership, dedication, commitment, and support to preserve the Federal Perkins Student Loan Program. In a community that is experiencing double-digit unemployment, 240 professional jobs at our company are dependent upon the continuation of the program. These same 240 employees who are proud of the role they play in providing future opportunities for students also dine and shop locally, thus adding to the economy.”

Under current law, colleges will begin repaying prior federal funding to the Treasury in October 2012 instead of continuing to make new loans with the funds, a change that would spell an end to the program. The recall date was pushed back a number of times in past legislation, most recently in the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act.

“Allowing the program to end in 2012 will jeopardize college access for low-income students,” said Spratt. “It will also eliminate jobs for thousands of people who administer and service the loans.”

Spratt’s bill changes the repayment date to October 2013, extending the Perkins loan program to allow colleges more time to plan how to continue providing assistance to students who are eligible for Perkins loans.

“Unlike some federal aid programs, there’s a human touch to Perkins loans, where colleges choose the students who apply and then either work with the students or hire companies to service the loans,” Spratt said.

Lori Hartung, Regional Sales Manager for Todd, Bremer & Lawson, Inc., a Perkins loan servicer with about 40 employees in the 5th District, said, "It is great news that Congressman Spratt is taking steps to continue the Federal Perkins loan program that helps make college possible for many people. His leadership in supporting this important loan program will make a difference for people in our community and students across the country."

BACKGROUND

Perkins loans are low-interest (5 percent interest) loans that go to about 500,000 low-income college students at some 1,700 college campuses each year. Students can have their Perkins loans cancelled if they undertake certain public service jobs for a specified length of time, thus reducing their total debt and making it easier to choose to pursue public service.

The program is financed by past federal capital contributions, college matching funds, and student repayments of past loans that are recirculated in a college’s revolving fund. The President’s budget included a comprehensive change to expand and extend the program, but Congress did not include the proposal when it approved changes to student aid programs earlier this year.

Field Trip to the White House

I recently had the opportunity to attend not one, but two White House events. Both events were held at the Executive Office Building, which is on the White House grounds. I've been on a tour of the Executive Office Building and the West Wing of the White House, thanks to a family friend that was working there. But had never been to the Executive Office Building for anything official.

The bigger of the two events feature the First Lady. She gave her first big speech on health care reform, which got a lot of press. It was a fabulous speech on women in health reform.

Moments like this remind me of why I moved to DC in the first place. This sort of opportunity doesn't come up all that often. On our walk there, we saw Chuck Todd- NBC's White House Correspondent! (DC star sightings aren't like they may be in NYC or LA.)

Anyway, in typical DC fashion, we saw some interesting sights on the walk there and back. Protesters....

Welcome to Washington, President Obama!

What a day! Unless you live under a rock, you've probably had your fill of Inauguration Day news. All eyes have been on Washington, my hometown (term used loosely), the last few days. I have to admit that I was undecided about making the journey into the city to be a part of everything in person. The excitement built, my parents are visiting, we decided to go. I had 4 layers of shirts, 3 layers on the bottom, 2 layers on the feet, plus a long heavy jacket, warm boots, 2 scarves, 2 pair of gloves, 2 hats and a partridge in a pear tree.

I know, I know....I didn't feel pretty either.

We had an early and rough start to the day. I live just close enough that officials recommended walking in to downtown, but just far enough to make it a loooooong walk. So we decided to take our chances on the closest metro station to get us closer. That was mistake #1. So many people, trains packed like sardines, and technical difficulties.

On to Plan B.

We started walking in hopes of finding a cab to get us as close to Memorial Bridge as possible. Have I ever mentioned how useless cabbies are and how much I hate them? Well, I do. Mr. Cab Driver #1 told us he couldn't go on any of the necessary roads. This later turned out to be totally false.

On to Plan C (a hail Mary if you will)....walk. Policeman #1 told us we could proceed on road. So we walk. Policeman #2 tells us we can't proceed on road. We almost give up. (The temperature was around 20 degrees and the wind chill was lower than that. Oh, and in case you forgot, we're from the south and aren't used to this type of cold.)

Long story short, Mr. Cab Driver #2 (aka gift from God) comes along to save us, drives us into DC. We get dropped off near the National's stadium and we do what we came to do best today: WALK. We walked, and walked, and walked, and walked some more. We walked alongside what seemed like the entire continental United States.

We were walking for about a total of 3 hours before we settled in the shadows beneath the Washington Monument. We were literally right in the middle of the National Mall. We had an okay view of a jumbotron and were able to hear and see all the action.

I've been an Obama fan and supporter since he first came on the scene. I literally got chills when I heard Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Chills again when hearing his speeches on the (very long) campaign trail. Major chills when he secured the democratic nomination. Even more chills when he won the election last November. So you can imagine that it wasn't just the cold weather that gave me chills when he took the oath of office today and made history.

Back to our story....Even though we couldn't feel our feet, we had no choice but to (you guessed it) start WALKING. We started walking in the direction of Virginia, knowing we had to walk the entire length of the Mall, across the Memorial Bridge (over an iced over river), to grandmother's house we go....

We finally made it to Arlington Cemetery, took the metro back to my house, and finally- collapsed. (And thawed out- our piles of clothes looked liked we were actually melted snowmen!)


I may not be able to move tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure we'd do it all over again to experience what we did. It was striking to me, that even though the masses of people had to walk our little heads off in subfreezing temperatures, the spirit and mood was joyous, friendly, kind, and courteous. Everything was sunny and bright. Things are definitely ch-ch-ch-changing in our nation's capital, and hopefully the nation.

The walk was long, but worth every single step.

Election 2008 = History

What an Election this has been! I wish I had some sort of clever and profound words to say. I have literally been speechless since 11:00 pm last night when Obama was named the next President of the United States. I'm soaking it all in and enjoying every moment of it.

I vividly remember 4 years ago, driving back to DC after campaigning for my team and loosing. The outlook for the democratic party was extremely grim. Never in my wildest dreams would I have believed what has happened this week.

Congrats to a great campaign and effort from Sen. McCain. He is a true American hero in every sense of the word. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.

No matter what your political beliefs are, I hope that you appreciate and embrace the history that has been made. There is a lot of difficult work ahead to steer our country back on track. But today, it is a wonderful day to be an American.

Election Eve

We survived the endless primary season, the dramatic VP picks, conventions, debates, speeches, advertisements, interviews, attacks, endorsements, phone calls, and brochures. The ups and downs, twists and turns. OH and who can forget the rhetoric...Change, Maverick, Hope, Experience, Yes We Can, and Country First. The political lover in me can hardly wait...

The BIG day is finally upon us! It's been a long election year (or 2) with new energy and strategy on both sides. I hope you are all voting tomorrow. Make sure that you know where to vote, and the proper identification needed.

Saturday Night Live has had some hilarious election pieces. If you've missed any of it, they're doing a 2 hour election special tonight at 9. At this point, we all just need to laugh! I'll be juggling SNL with my usual Monday night TV line up of Gossip Girl and Dancing with the Stars.

In other news: Our office building had a pumpkin carving contest on Friday. My office makes the newest staff members put the pumpkin together each year. I'm proud to say that I did the carving for our team and we won "Silliest Pumpkin!" I was in SC over the weekend and didn't get a chance to post, so a belated Front Porch Friday of our winning pumpkin:

Um...it turned out pretty silly! It's a Sarah Palin pumpkin as her former beauty queen self. Playing the flute was her talent (May be the only thing the two of us have in common). And the patriotic moose represents one of her favorite pastimes.

Obama Drama

It is not my intention to make this blog about politics. But I do live in DC and politics is one of my interests so from time to time, there may be a very lighthearted blog about the political world!

Maybe it's just me, but this election, particularly on the Democratic side has had enough drama for a Lifetime movie! From the beginning, the very fact that two historical candidates (a woman and an African American) both had a chance at winning the nomination, setting the party up for a historical campaign and presidential election. The primary came down to the wire with plenty of twists and turns. Then came the ironic "bringing the party together" rally in a town called Unity, NH. Maybe a little over the top- but they had a point to make, right?

Now we're just over 2 months from the election and we still don't know the running mate for either side! So the suspense continues and we're awaiting an exciting text message with our answer (because a regular 'ole press conference type announcement just wouldn't do!)

To up the drama factor Sen. Obama will officially accept the party's nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech on August 28th. Just perfect!

This could not have been written any better! What could the next two months hold?
This is much better than watching any Stories (Soap Operas)! I'll be sitting by my cell and on the edge of my seat, waiting for a fairytale ending!

UPDATE: So we obviously know who all the VP picks are now. Just wanted to add that McCain's choice in Gov. Palin definitely thickens the plot! Happy Campaign Season!