Research Briefing

How Obama’s Government Takeovers Of Health Care & Student Loans Take Opportunities Away From Americans

“March 24: Education Secretary Arne Duncan Will Meet With Students And Parents That Stand To Benefit From The American Opportunity Credit For College Expenses At Northern Virginia Community College In Annandale, Va.” (Kendra Marr, “Online Tool Finds Stimulus Savings,” Politico’s “44“ Blog, 3/22/10)

OBAMA’S GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT CONTAINS TWO TAKEOVERS THAT WILL TAKE AWAY JOB OPPORTUNITIES …

With Obama’s Government Takeover Of Student Loans, Lenders Could Cut 35,000 Jobs. “But the student loan industry estimates that nearly 35,000 jobs would be lost if the federal government lent directly to students and only let private companies service the loans. Sallie Mae, one of the largest private lenders, would cut an estimated 2,500 workers in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Delaware, Virginia, New York and Ohio. Nelnet, a student lending company based in Nebraska, has already laid off employees in Indiana and Florida and could cut additional workers in Colorado.” (Alexander Bolton, “Dem Plan To Twin Healthcare And Student Lending Complicates Vote,” The Hill, 3/8/10)

With Obama’s Government Takeover Of Health Care, New Regulations Will Force Businesses To Pass Costs To Consumers And Hire Less Workers. “‘Those who are likely to be affected are those who work at smaller firms where coverage isn’t as comprehensive and their employer doesn’t subsidize much of the premium cost,’ said Elizabeth McGlynn, associate director of RAND Health, a division of the RAND Corporation. ... And for employers compelled by the mandate to add or enhance coverage, she said, the higher costs might very likely be passed on to consumers of their products or services, or prompt them to hire fewer workers.” (Katharine Q. Seelye, “Employer Mandate Becomes Sticky Issue In Reconciling Bills,” The New York Times’s “Prescriptions” Blog, 10/31/09)

TOOK AWAY OPPORTUNITIES FOR BIPARTISANSHIP …

Lending Agency Sallie Mae Called For Bipartisan Student Loan Bill But Says Dems “Considered Only The Government Takeover Proposal.” “Sallie Mae, a major player in the fight, has called on Democrats to craft a bipartisan bill and has called for improvements to Obama’s proposed reforms. ‘Student loan reform represents an opportunity for bipartisan collaboration,’ Sallie Mae wrote in a February press release. ‘We are disappointed there has not been more debate on these important issues. Congress has held one hearing on reform and considered only the government takeover proposal.’“ (Alexander Bolton, “Dem Plan To Twin Healthcare And Student Lending Complicates Vote,” The Hill, 3/8/10)

Obama Moved Forward On Reconciliation To Pass Government Takeover Of Health Care, “With Or Without Republican Support.” “President Obama declared Thursday that the time for debate over health-care reform has come to an end, closing an unusual seven-hour summit with congressional leaders by sending a clear message that Democrats will move forward to pass major legislation with or without Republican support. Democratic leaders face a heavy lift in reviving their stalled bill, a process that would involve intricate parliamentary maneuvering and carries no guarantee of success.” (Shailagh Murray & Anne E. Kornblut, “At Health Care Summit, Obama Tells Republicans He’s Eager To Move Ahead,” The Washington Post, 2/2 6/10)

AND IMPOSE MORE GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY ON AMERICANS

Obama’s Takeover Of Student Loans Will Put Bureaucrats In Between Students And Financial Aid They Need For Higher Education. “The Obama plan calls for the U.S. Department of Education to move from its current 20% share of the student-loan origination market to 80% on July 1, 2010, when private lenders will be barred from making government-guaranteed loans... The news from Washington now is that rather than scaling back federal involvement, the pols want the U.S. Department of Education to be the exclusive banker to America’s college students ... parents will soon have no choice beyond a Washington bureaucracy to borrow money for their college-bound children.” (Editorial, “The Quietest Trillion,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/12/09)

• And College Administrators Fear House Dems’ Takeover Of Student Loans Will Hurt Students. “The fear is that the bureaucrats will not be able to pull off a takeover in just eight months. ‘Any delay in getting funds to schools on behalf of students will result in our needing to find resources at a time when credit is difficult to obtain,’ warns the letter [from three dozen college administrators].” (Editorial, “The Quietest Trillion,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/12/09)

Obama’s Government Takeover Of Health Care Will Place Government Bureaucrats In Between Doctors And Patients, Leading To Rationed Care. “Although administration officials are eager to deny it, rationing health care is central to President Barack Obama’s health plan. The Obama strategy is to reduce health costs by rationing the services that we and future generations of patients will receive.” (Martin Feldstein, Op-Ed, “Obamacare Is All About Rationing,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/19/09)

And Obama’s Democrat For “Comparative Effectiveness Research” Leads To Government Boards Deciding What Treatments Would Or Wouldn’t Be Funded. “Skeptics, however, say Obama’s decision to invest heavily in such research will lead to European-style rationing in which patients are denied lifesaving therapies to save money. It also has alarmed some drug companies and medical device manufacturers, which fear that a system of winners and losers is bound to reduce their bottom lines.” (Ceci Connolly, “Comparison Shopping For Medicine,” The Washington Post, 3/17/09)