{"id":472711,"date":"2010-03-25T12:05:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-25T16:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:www.southernstudies.org,2010:\/\/5.12195"},"modified":"2010-03-29T13:28:25","modified_gmt":"2010-03-29T17:28:25","slug":"lincolns-opposition-to-student-loan-reform-highlights-senators-ties-to-banking-interests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/472711","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln&#8217;s opposition to student loan reform highlights senator&#8217;s ties to banking interests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>        <span class=\"mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image\" style=\"display: inline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.southernstudies.org\/Student%20Debt.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Student Debt.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/www.southernstudies.org\/assets_c\/2010\/03\/Student%20Debt-thumb-250x187.jpg\" class=\"mt-image-right\" style=\"float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 20px 20px;\" height=\"187\" width=\"250\" \/><\/a><\/span>This afternoon, the Senate will take a final vote on the health reform bill before <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/HealthCare\/health-care-bill-back-house-vote-republican-challenges\/story?id=10197766\">sending it back to the House<\/a> for several minor fixes. Two Democratic U.S. senators are expected to vote &#8220;nay&#8221; on the reconciliation bill &#8212; although their opposition will only be partially due to health reform.<\/p>\n<p><!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><br \/>\n<a class=\"addthis_button\" href=\"http:\/\/www.addthis.com\/bookmark.php?v=250&amp;username=xa-4bab8c1920bf997b\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/static\/btn\/v2\/lg-share-en.gif\" alt=\"Bookmark and Share\" style=\"border: 0pt none;\" height=\"16\" width=\"125\" \/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/s7.addthis.com\/js\/250\/addthis_widget.js#username=xa-4bab8c1920bf997b\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- AddThis Button END --><\/p>\n<p>Sens. Ben Nelson (NE) and Blanche Lincoln (AR) are opposed to the bill due to a largely overshadowed, but just as important, measure that would dramatically reform the student loan industry.<em> <\/p>\n<p>[<strong>UPDATE 3\/25 3:20pm: <\/strong>As expected, <a href=\"http:\/\/voices.washingtonpost.com\/ezra-klein\/2010\/03\/senate_passes_reconciliation_f.html\">the Senate passed the bill 56-43<\/a>, with Nelson, Lincoln and Sen. Mark Pryor, also from Arkansas, the only Democrats voting &#8220;nay.&#8221;]<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"http:\/\/www.southernstudies.org\/2010\/03\/six-democratic-senators-poised-to-kill-student-loan-reform.html\">Facing South reported<\/a>, just two weeks ago six senators wrote to President Obama outlining their &#8220;concerns&#8221; over the loan reform proposal that would stop private lenders from being allowed to originate student loans, which they make virtually risk-free thanks to federal subsidies. <\/p>\n<p>By Wednesday, most of the reluctant Democratic senators had <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ourfuture.org\/blog-entry\/2010031224\/student-loan-industrys-senate-coalition-splinters-sign-victory\">shifted gears<\/a> and signaled their support for reform, mostly to avoid the negative optics of being on the wrong side of health reform.<\/p>\n<p>But Lincoln and Nelson appear to be holding out in defense of the for-profit student loan industry. Why?<\/p>\n<p><strong>PERSONAL AND POLITICAL TIES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The answer is likely found in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ourfuture.org\/report\/2010031222\/money-changers-senate\">a report released this week<\/a> by Kevin Connor of the Institute for America&#8217;s Future, which details a dense web of personal and political relationships between major private lenders and the two senators.<\/p>\n<p>First the political: Lincoln and Nelson have been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/kevin-connor\/the-bank-lobbyists-behind_b_512049.html\">two of the biggest beneficiaries of campaign contributions<\/a> from the student loan industry:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Nelson, for one, is a top recipient of Nelnet [a large lender based in Nebraska] cash. The company&#8217;s PAC has given him $19,000 over the years, and executives Jay and Mike Dunlap gave him $3,000 late last year. Sallie Mae&#8217;s PAC maxed out to Senator Blanche Lincoln&#8217;s primary account in 2009.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But it&#8217;s also personal, thanks to a revolving door between Lincoln and Nelson&#8217;s senate offices and the lobbying operations of the student lenders. <\/p>\n<p>As part of a massive $<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ourfuture.org\/report\/2010031222\/money-changers-senate\">15 million lobbying push<\/a>, Connor notes that the loan companies &#8220;made a number of key lobbying hires in order to open lines of communication&#8221; to target senators:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Among their hires: <a href=\"http:\/\/littlesis.org\/person\/17657\/Kelly_Bingel\">Kelly Bingel<\/a>. Bingel is Senator Blanche Lincoln&#8217;s former chief of staff and a longtime aide to the Senator. She is lobbying on behalf of an obscure group called the &#8220;Student Loan Coalition&#8221; and John Dean, a lobbyist for the Consumer Bankers Association. The CBA&#8217;s membership includes Citigroup, Chase, Wells Fargo, and a number of other large student lenders.<\/p>\n<p>A recent Roll Call article described Bingel as <a href=\"http:\/\/74.125.93.132\/search?q=cache:WPU7bb59XrsJ:www.rollcall.com\/issues\/55_63\/lobbying\/41051-1.html\">Lincoln&#8217;s &#8220;alter ego<\/a>.&#8221;[&#8230;] Lincoln is the godmother of Bingel&#8217;s son [and] both members of the same sorority, Chi Omega.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Another connection: Lottie Shackelford, one of Lincoln&#8217;s major donors, is a lobbyist for Sallie Mae, the biggest student lender in the country lobbyist. Shackelford, the former mayor of Little Rock and vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, has given Lincoln $3,750 over the past five years, including $2,000 in 2009. She first began lobbying for Sallie Mae in 2007.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Nelson has similar ties: Amy Tejral, his former legislative director, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/kevin-connor\/the-bank-lobbyists-behind_b_512049.html\">is now a lobbyist for Nelnet<\/a>, Nelson&#8217;s largest campaign contributor and a lending company with a strong interest in maintaining the status quo.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ARVEST BANK AND THE WALTON EMPIRE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sen. Lincoln has another close tie to the student loan industry back in her home state not mentioned in Connor&#8217;s report: <b>Arvest Bank<\/b>, based in Fayetteville, Ark. and chaired by none other than <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jim_Walton\">Jim C. Walton<\/a>, youngest heir to the Wal-Mart fortune and ranked by Forbes as the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/lists\/2009\/10\/billionaires-2009-richest-people_Jim-Walton_JI38.html\">11th-richest person in the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.southernstudies.org\/Arkansas%20Student%20Loans.pdf\">Arkansas state records<\/a> [pdf], Arvest is by far the biggest student lender in Arkansas, responsible for $9.6 million in student loans last school year and $9.2 million in 2009-2010.<\/p>\n<p>Arvest is also a big supporter of Sen. Blanche Lincoln. According to OpenSecrets.org, individuals and PACs connected to Arvest were <a href=\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/politicians\/contrib.php?cid=N00008092&amp;cycle=2010&amp;type=I&amp;newMem=N&amp;recs=100\">among the top 50 contributors to Lincoln&#8217;s campaign committee<\/a> in the 2010 election cycle, pitching $11,700 into her campaign coffers.<\/p>\n<p>But the big gun here is Mr. Walton, whose political clout in Arkansas and nationally goes far beyond Arvest Bank. Wal-Mart has been the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/politicians\/contrib.php?cycle=Career&amp;cid=N00008092\">3rd-biggest financial supporter<\/a> of Lincoln&#8217;s political career, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/politicians\/contrib.php?cycle=Career&amp;cid=N00008092\">investing $75,500 in her<\/a> since she took office in 1989.<\/p>\n<p>Jim Walton doesn&#8217;t give much money to Democrats &#8212; only <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsmeat.com\/billionaire_political_donations\/Jim_Walton.php\">1% of his donations since 1980<\/a> &#8212; but he&#8217;s personally made an exception for Sen. Lincoln, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsmeat.com\/billionaire_political_donations\/Jim_Walton.php\">personally donating $4,600 to Lincoln<\/a> in her last election run.<\/p>\n<p>But that&#8217;s obviously just a fraction of Walton&#8217;s political influence. Over the last 12 years, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsmeat.com\/billionaire_political_donations\/Jim_Walton.php\">he&#8217;s personally donated $51,550 to the Arvest and Wal-Mart PACs<\/a>, significant chunks of which made their way back to Lincoln.<\/p>\n<p>And with the Waltons, politicians are always aware there&#8217;s plenty more where that came from &#8212; especially after the Supreme Court expanded the ability of corporate players to influence elections.<\/p>\n<p>Sensing the opportunity, Arkansas Lt. Governor Bill Halter &#8212; who launched a surprise primary challenge to Lincoln this spring &#8212; has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.billhalter.com\/2010\/3\/19\/statement-on-student-aid-and-fiscal-responsibility-act\">announced<\/a> his full support of the student loan reform measure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This afternoon, the Senate will take a final vote on the health reform bill before sending it back to the House for several minor fixes. Two Democratic U.S. senators are expected to vote &#8220;nay&#8221; on the reconciliation bill &#8212; although their opposition will only be partially due to health reform. Sens. Ben Nelson (NE) and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4084,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-472711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}