Pubdate: Wed, 20 Jul 2005
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
Copyright: 2005 Richmond Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://www.timesdispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/365
Author: Sean Mussenden
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)

U.S. MAY NOT JUST SAY NO TO COLLEGE LOANS

Panel Is Expected To Advance The Repeal Of A Law Preventing Drug Offenders
From Borrowing

James Johnson's three convictions for possession of crack cocaine and
marijuana disqualify him for a taxpayer-backed student loan under
federal law.

But Johnson, 27, insists his drug days are behind him and he
desperately needs a loan to pay for his education at the community
college near his home in Ruffin, N.C. His dream now is to be a filmmaker.

"It's not fair," he said. "Some of us are honestly trying to get our
lives together, and we need financial help. Past is past. You should
be able to put your past behind you and move on."

Seven years after passing a law that critics charge blocked college
aid to more than 150,000 people convicted of drug offenses, Congress
appears poised to repeal some of its stricter provisions.

The measure, part of a broad package of laws dealing with higher
education, must pass the full House and Senate and be signed into law
by President Bush before taking effect.

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., was instrumental in passing the original law
and is leading the charge to retool it. He said through a spokesman
that he never intended to block aid to people who committed drug
crimes before entering college. The Department of Education, which
oversees federal student loan applications, has misinterpreted it,
spokesman Martin Green said.

The proposed change would not affect financial-aid restrictions
imposed on students who are convicted of drug crimes while in college.

Those restrictions make sense because they discourage kids from using
drugs, Green said. Besides, "students who receive taxpayer dollars to
go to college have a responsibility to obey the law, even if it's a
law with which they do not agree," he said.

Critics of the original law say there is no evidence that a small
warning on a financial-aid application -- which many parents complete
for their children -- discourages drug use.

Rep. Robert E. Andrews, D-N.J., said that Congress' goal should be to
transform drug users into productive citizens. The best way to do that
is to ensure access to education, not take it away, he said.

IMPACT

Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce is expected
to approve a measure that would remove student loan barriers for
people who were convicted of drug offenses before they started college.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin