Sanders fights harmful cuts to student programs Erna Numanovic, 25, of Burlington found a way to attend college, thanks to the federal TRIO program, Upward Bound. This invalu-able program prepared her for entrance ex-ams and helped her identify and apply for essential scholarships. She graduated debt free. Today, federally-funded programs like Upward Bound are under attack by some in Congress who want to balance the budget solely on the backs of the poor, the sick, the elderly and students.

Erna’s family moved to Vermont from Bosnia when she was 11 years old. She attended Upward Bound at Lyndon State College in the summer while in high school. The program worked. She graduated from St. Michael’s College in 2007 with a major in business administration.

“If it wasn’t for that program, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am right now,” she said. Erna’s parents always hoped she would at-tend college—something they never did—but didn’t know how to make it happen.

Federal TRIO programs, which help low-income and working-class students achieve a bachelor’s degree, have suffered devastat-ing cuts in funding. In this year’s budget, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) supported a $26.6 million funding decrease to TRIO. The funding de-creases to TRIO will undermine the educa-tional goals of 80,000 low-income students throughout the country. In Vermont, alone, the cuts could eliminate funding for 350 students.

Erna Numanovic has been following the debate in Washington and knows budgets have been sliced on programs that helped her obtain her college degree. “It’s terrible. I just wish that there was more that we can do,” she said. “I hope they understand there are real lives being affected by it.”

A news update from

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders[ fall 2011 ]

TheBernie Buzz

MAJORING in the RECESSION

( continued on page two )

M ost Vermont students have spent their entire college career in the deepest recession since the Great Depression. This December, the

recession will have lasted four years.

After reckless and illegal behavior on Wall Street caused a financial collapse that sent the economy into a tailspin, jobs have become scarce and wages have fallen. The lack of good-paying jobs compounds the financial problems faced by students, who are often graduating college with tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

Nick Hogan, 20, a junior at St. Michael’s College said he is “absolutely” concerned about the job market he will face after graduating. “The iffy job market is driving me to consider continued education,” the political science major said.

The downside of more schooling, however, is often more debt. “I am concerned about my debt load,” Hogan said. “I will graduate with approximately $40,000 in debt, not considering the potential for more loans for graduate work.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders believes that it is absolutely imperative for our country that college be affordable and available to all families – regardless of income. He also believes that, in the midst of this terrible recession, the federal government must embark on a major jobs program.

“The productivity and strength of our economy depends upon a well-educated work force. It is a great waste of intellectual capital when an increasing number of high school graduates are not able to afford a higher education,” Sanders said. “Fur-ther, our nation suffers, as do millions of families, when students graduate college deeply in debt.”

Citing sky-high unemployment, Sanders said the federal government should wage an aggressive effort to create the millions of jobs our economy desperately needs. The senator’s ambitious jobs plan would help graduating seniors find good-paying

( continued on page three )

~ one ~

Pell grants, which help working families cover the escalating cost of college, have been repeatedly at risk during congressional budget cutting. Sen. Bernie Sanders helped lead the fight to protect Pell grants. The fight is not over. New attacks have been launched by congres-sional opponents, including Senate Republican Leader McConnell and Rep. Ryan (R-Wis.), to reduce the maximum award amount—which is now $5,550—to just $2,100.

Sanders is working hard to ensure these pro-grams are protected so families have a chance to send their kids to college or prevent them from having to drop out. “It’s outrageous that some in Congress want to protect tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, but take away the chance for kids to go to college,” the sena-tor said.

Federal assistance is crucial for students trying to obtain a college degree. The average student debt load for a member of the Class of 2009 is $24,000, according to a new report from the Project on Student Debt, a nonprofit orga-nization dedicated to making college more affordable.

Erna, who now works for a software company in Essex Junction, wants Congress to help more students find a way to go to college. She has been doing her part by helping with Upward Bound. “You tell the kids, ‘There is a future and there is hope,’” she said. “The program really opens everyone’s eyes. You can go to college and you can get a degree.”

Erna’s younger sister also participated in Up-ward Bound and is now attending college.

(‘Harmful cuts’ continued from page one)

Sanders fights harmful cuts to student programs

�~ two ~

Sen. Sanders visited State Line Farm in North Bennington to discuss biofuels and sustainable energy.

The status quo is not good enough.

than 2.5 percent between 2000 and 2009. If every state followed Vermont’s lead, over the next decade we could avoid the need for 390 coal-burning power plants, create more than 220,000 new jobs, save consumers $168 billion on energy bills, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 48 million vehicles off of our roads.

Drive around Vermont now and you will see more and more solar panels – on both a small and large scale. The largest solar farm in Vermont, at 2.2 megawatts, has been built in South Burlington. In Springfield, a local manufacturer is producing 90 percent of the electricity it needs from American-made solar panels. Further, I am proud to say I have worked closely with the Vermont National Guard to install nearly 1.5 megawatts of solar panels, making that base a model for the military, in terms of green technology.

Nationally, we are making progress as well. A new solar thermal project that just broke ground in California will provide enough electricity for more than 300,000 homes. The potential is enormous. Solar thermal projects on public lands in the southwest could power nearly 30 percent of the electric needs in homes throughout the United States.

We can do more with solar in homes and businesses, too. I have written legislation, which has bi-partisan

support, calling for solar installations on 10 million rooftops in America. That

would make our nation the leader in solar energy and create hundreds

of thousands of jobs in this exciting green energy field.

We still have a lot of work to do. The status quo is not good enough. The

United States must lead the world in moving to sustainability and energy efficiency.

Although we still have a very long way to go, in Vermont and across the nation we are beginning to

make some real progress in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels, and to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. When we finally break our $350 billion a year addiction to foreign oil, we will also cut greenhouse gases and, over a period of years, create millions of desperately needed new jobs.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation recently announced new fuel economy standards that will result in 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and passenger trucks by 2025. After years of industry opposition, this new standard will reduce our need for oil in a major way, enough so that we can eliminate our reliance on Middle East and Persian Gulf oil by 2030. This is a huge achievement, and will save consumers thousands at the gas pump.

Vermont is leading the nation in energy efficiency. As frugal New Englanders,

we understand that the most effective approach

to energy policy is to conserve. Our

aggressive efforts have worked. Vermont

has cut electricity consumption by

more

Transforming Our Energy System

Creating Jobs for the Futureby Senator Bernie Sanders

jobs and help put the unemployed back to work.

Sanders called for creating huge job growth by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel, investing in education, and mak-ing fundamental changes in our trade policy. Revising American trade policy will help re-build the country’s manufacturing sector by encouraging corporate America to invest in the United States instead of outsourcing jobs to China, Vietnam, and other countries that pay low wages.

Zach Despart, 20, anticipates graduating this year from the University of Vermont with about $70,000 in debt. “I am concerned about finding a job post-graduation. There are a lot of talented people entering the job market,” he said. “I’ve been trying to build my resume by doing internships and doing an honors thesis.”

“My debt from student loans is especially concerning,” Despart adds, “because you’re forced to immediately find a job be-cause you have to start pay-ing back loans six months after graduation.”

A different type of debt—the national debt—has domi-nated the debate in Washington in recent months. “Yes, deficit reduc-tion is important and we must reduce the debt in a fair and responsible way. But the number one challenge America faces right now is a jobs crisis,” the senator said, noting that nearly 25 million Americans, or 16 percent of the work force, cannot find full-time jobs. “Creating the new jobs that we des-perately need is not only vitally important to our economy, but will be the means by which we reduce the deficit over the long term. New jobs mean more government revenue, which makes a lot more sense than spending billions on unemployment compensation, food stamps, and other programs needed during a severe recession.”

Leisa Kelsey, 50, of St. Albans is not your typical student. She is also concerned about graduating from college in a terrible job mar-ket. Kelsey, a mother of two teenagers, bor-rowed $24,500 to go back to school to get her bachelor’s degree so she could land a better paying job. “I just didn’t make enough

money to pay the rent,” she said.

She plans to graduate from Johnson State College this spring, but is anxious about the economy. “I was thinking the recession can’t last that long,” Kelsey said. “Now I’m thinking: I only have until the spring—and it doesn’t look like the situation will be fixed that fast.”

Now, she worries she will have to return to her original job, but also deal with tens of thousands of dollars in new debt.

“I think everyone is struggling with the de-cisions of what to do after graduation,” said Brittany Richardson, 21, who is a senior at St. Michael’s College. Richardson, an anthropol-ogy and religious studies major, says she will graduate with about $50,000 in debt and is “definitely concerned with how and when I will be able to pay off my loans and how that will affect me in the future.”

Unfulfilled Expectations

This spring, Rutgers University exam-ined how college graduates have fared during the recession. You don’t

have to get too far beyond the title of their study, “Unfulfilled Expectations: Recent

College Graduates Struggle in a Troubled Economy” to real-

ize the report does not paint a rosy picture of

the prospects for stu-dents about to grad-uate from college.

Among the members of the Class of 2010,

just 56 percent had landed a job by this spring, the study

found. That compares with 90 percent of graduates from the classes of 2006 and 2007.

For recent college students that do find a job, pay has slumped. Median starting salary

(‘Recession’ continued from page one)

Students weigh what awaits after graduation

for students graduating from four-year col-leges in 2009 and 2010 was $27,000, the study reported. That’s a 10 per-cent decline from the $30,000 salary re-ceived by students who entered the work force in 2006 to 2008.

On college campuses throughout Vermont, the lackluster job market and the great fi-nancial burden facing students upon gradu-ation is widely discussed.

“The down economy—and the fear sur-rounding it—certainly has me anxious about finding a job when I graduate,” said Jeff Ayers, a 20-year-old English major at UVM. “Luckily, as a junior, I have a little time for things to recover. I feel for the seniors heading out into this toxic economic cli-mate. With my own debt rising from student loans, I can’t imagine having to try and pay it off soon.”

Ayers said he is beginning to lose confidence the president and congressional leaders can get the economy moving. “I like to have faith that those we elected to serve can come up with an effective solution to our nation’s financial troubles,” he said. “But that faith keeps becoming harder to hold on to.”

Sen. Sanders cautions, students cannot and must not lose hope: “We need our young people and their ideas, their passion and their drive to help firmly establish America’s place as a global leader and to create the good-paying jobs we need to rebuild our middle class.”

�

We need our young people and their ideas, their

passion and their drive...

to rebuild our middle

class.”

�

~ three ~

“I was thinking the

recession can’t last that long. Now I’m thinking: I

only have until the spring —and it doesn’t look like the

situation will be fixed that fast.”

“

[ the back page ]

your thoughts

$24,000 The average student debt load for a member of the Class of 2009.

$2,100 The maximum Pell grant awarded to students—cut from $5,550—in the budget authored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.)

59 The percent of Americans who believe it is totally unacceptable or mostly unacceptable to cut college student loans.

6.2 The percent increase in out-of-state tuition at public colleges and universities through-out the U.S.

2012 The year interest rates on federal Stafford loans will fall from 5.6 percent to 3.4 percent, thanks to a mandate from Congress.

30 The number of consecutive months the jobless rate has been at least 8.6 percent, a record.

16.2 The percent of Americans either unemployed or under-employed.

$3,800 The amount middle class families’ income has decreased since 1999.

50,000 The number of manufacturing plants shuttered in the U.S. during the past decade.

220,000 The number of new jobs that could be created nationally, if the U.S. followed Vermont’s lead in investing in energy efficiency.

400 The number of richest American families who own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

81 The percent of Americans who believe it is totally or mostly acceptable to impose a surtax on millionaires to reduce the deficit.

54.5 The miles per gallon cars and passenger trucks will get under new fuel economy standards by 2025.

2.5 million The number of barrels of oil saved daily, once new fuel economy standards are implemented. (That’s more than the projected imports from the Canadian tar sands pipeline, Middle East and Persian Gulf imports combined.)

quick takes

~ four ~

ENDING THE WARS Ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will save trillions of dollars and help us reduce the national debt. Not including the cost of these wars, our annual defense budget has more than doubled since 1997 – from $254 billion to $549 billion.

DEFENDING RIGHTS Sen. Bernie Sanders, a strong defender of women’s rights, helped lead the fight to protect Planned Parenthood from being undermined by a budget authored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) “Without the care Planned Parenthood provides – without access to Pap smears, pelvic exams, and breast exams – women will die. That is not just a fiscal matter. That is a matter of conscience, and a question of who we are as Americans,” Bernie said.

SOCIAL SECURITY Social Security has a $2.5 trillion surplus and can pay out every penny to every eligible American until 2038. Social Security would then be able to pay more than 80 percent of promised benefits. Bernie wants to strengthen Social Security for another 75 years by asking millionaires to pay their fair share. Some in Congress, however, want to raise the retirement age to 70. Aside from being unfair to older Americans, forcing people to work longer will make it more difficult for young people to find jobs after college.

...by the numbers

Sen. Sanders wants you to share your thoughts on what Congress should be doing. He also would like to hear from you about how the recession has impacted your life. Visit our website to read how the most severe recession since the Great Depression has affected college students throughout Vermont.

Coffee Break With Bernie One college student who shares their story will be given the opportunity to meet with Sen. Sanders on campus to discuss the experiences of college students in America today.

www.sanders.senate.gov/college or use this code with

your smart phone:

OFFICE OF US SENATOR SANDERS1 CHURCH STREET, BURLINGTON, VT 05401802/862-0697 www.sanders.senate.gov