Hartford Courant: The Poster Child

Washington- President Bush is poised to sign legislation overhauling the nation's college student loan program, and University of Connecticut senior Trea McPherson can claim some credit for the success.

The 21-year-old political science major has been a Washington presence - critics say a convenient prop - this fall as the bill snaked its way through Congress. George Miller, the California Democrat who runs the House Education and Labor Committee, told McPherson, "you've been to more press conferences than I have."

And for good reason, say supporters of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which they're calling the "single largest investment in higher education since the GI Bill" more than 60 years ago.

McPherson is the human face on legislation that would cut interest rates in half on subsidized loans over the next four years; substantially increase the maximum Pell Grants, which go to needy students; provide tuition aid to qualified students who agree to become teachers in high-poverty areas; and allow loan forgiveness after 10 years of public service to prosecutors, military service members, librarians, firefighters, nurses and others.

The White House and many Republican leaders have been wary of the bill, worried that it will actually increase the cost of borrowing. They're concerned that many private lenders, whose subsidies are being cut, will be more reluctant to make loans.

"Despite its lofty name, this legislation does nothing at all to reduce the cost of college," said Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee.

But that's been a hard argument to make when people like Trea McPherson are hanging around."

His situation is compelling," said Kevin Bruns, executive director of America's Student Loan Providers, a Washington group that opposes the bill. "People like him put a face on the issue and get attention from college papers, blogs and TV."

McPherson was discovered through U.S. PIRG [Public Interest Research Groups], one of the bill's most active supporters. The Egg Harbor Township, N.J., resident became active on the UConn campus fighting for ways to reduce the cost of college. He eventually became the state ConnPIRG board chairman in the last school year and helped register voters on campus.

His work paid off - six times as many students voted in 2006 as had voted in 2002, and newly elected Rep. Joseph Courtney, D-2nd District, gave UConn, and McPherson, a lot of the credit for his victory.

McPherson's journey to Washington began after the election. New House Speaker Nancy D. Pelosi made reducing college costs one of her biggest priorities, and U.S. PIRG, while nonpartisan, was eager to help.

Luke Swarthout, its higher education advocate, knew Connecticut well; four years ago, while still a student at Amherst College, he became a U.S. PIRG official.

So when U.S. PIRG needed "real people" to help push the cause this year, it turned to McPherson as well as others. He fit the qualifications well: A middle-class student (his father is a manager at a nuclear plant, his mother is a bookkeeper), $18,000 in student loans (a big amount, but not too big, so the middle class can relate) and a desire to go to law school once he graduates next year.

The 2007 legislation could help him and his sister, now a sophomore at St. John's University in New York, in several ways: It could reduce the 6.8 percent interest rates on student loans, and it could help with their loans if McPherson becomes a prosecutor, as he hopes to do.

"The whole point is that the bill will help students start their lives faster," he said. "Without this help I may or may not have gone to law school right away. Now I'll definitely go" after graduating from UConn next year.

He quickly found a receptive audience for these views in Washington. U.S. PIRG brought him and other students to the city in January, where he appeared at a news conference with Courtney, Miller, Senate Education Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and others as they touted legislation.

His awe evaporated quickly as he found the lawmakers down to earth. "I asked Joe Courtney could I get a picture," McPherson said. "He laughed and said, `After what UConn did for me, I'll build you a statue.''

Earlier this month, he returned for a press conference with Kennedy and Courtney, though he barely made it, arriving an hour before it began. Someone put a statement in front of him to read; McPherson chuckled and politely informed everyone he would tell his story in his own words.

"It's not that I didn't want to say what they told me. I didn't really even know I was speaking that day until I arrived," McPherson said.

Everything worked out, and he and Kennedy wound up talking informally about college, social justice and life in general.

Last Tuesday, McPherson was back, this time to stand quietly with two other students behind Pelosi at her bill-signing ceremony and heard himself touted as a hero.

Skeptics could only wince.

The lenders, Bruns said, could not counter all this. "There are privacy laws, and we have to be very careful about approaching a student and saying, `Would you show up in Washington?'"

Others thought it was unfair to students to trot them out and make them human posters for political aims.

"It might have helped when this tactic was new five years ago," said Pete Sepp, a vice president at the National Taxpayers Union. But the fact that people like McPherson are subsidized by interest groups, and are almost ubiquitous at Capitol Hill events, dilutes the impact, he said.

Don't tell that to McPherson or Courtney.

"He personifies the message," the congressman said flatly.

Hartford Courant, David Lightman, Washington Bureau Chief, 9/24/07

Courtney Urges High School Students To Get Involved Politically

Montville High School senior Megan Logan, 17, got a chance Wednesday to ask her congressman whether he approves of what President George W. Bush has done in office.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said he credits the president for a few things, but that under Bush's leadership the country has gone “backwards.”

About deficit spending: “The cost of interest is growing, and it's going to affect all of you,” Courtney said.
About cutting taxes for the affluent: “Tax breaks to Paris Hilton cost money,” Courtney said.

Courtney has announced plans to visit as many schools in the 2nd District as possible. He was at Montville High School on Wednesday, a visit that included a tour of the school and a question-and-answer session with a class studying American law.
Courtney acknowledged the role of young voters in the November elections. Courtney defeated Rob Simmons by just 83 votes. He said a record number of young people voted, and he received a significant number of votes in college towns such as New London, Storrs and Willimantic.

“There's a pretty good case that they had an impact,” Courtney said.

He urged students at Montville High to get involved in politics.

“I'm not saying that you all have to get out there with fliers, but at least participate,” he said.

Courtney, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, also spoke about upcoming legislation that will have an affect on students.

One such bill would cut interest for student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent and could save the average student approximately $5,000, Courtney said.

“It can make a difference if a (student) goes to school or not,” he said.

American law teacher George Dawe concurred, saying hefty loan payments can be a burden for young adults.
Courtney also noted the support from the House of Representatives and the Senate to increase the amount of Pell grants, where the federal government provides money to students to pay for college. The amount has not increased in six years, while the cost of tuition continues to rise, he said.

Courtney also talked about a bill to increase minimum wage; a resolution in Congress opposing policy to increase the number of troops in Iraq; casinos affecting local communities; No Child Left Behind legislation and unfunded mandates; the country's dependence on fossil fuels; and the 2008 elections.

Courtney also visited H.H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson and Norwich Technical High School this week. He plans to visit Stafford High School on Friday.

Montville High School Principal Thomas Amanti said this is the first time a congressman has asked to come to the school and visit with students.

“I think it's great,” Amanti said.

Published in the Montville Times - 2/22/2007

By Amy Renczkowski

Congressman lauds voting to Ellis Tech youths

As published in the Norwich Bulletin, February 21, 2007

DANIELSON -- The proposal on the Democratic agenda in the first 100 hours of Congress that won the most support from Republicans was the measure that cut interest rates on student college loans.

"That wasn't a coincidence," U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, told students Tuesday morning at Harvard Ellis Technical High School. "It wasn't a matter of members of Congress being nice people. It was a reaction to the impact that young people had on Congress in the last election."

Younger voters, especially those 18 to 25, turned out in higher numbers in November than in any previous elections since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote in 1972. The result was a shift in power as Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress.

"The more you vote, the more politicians are going to pay attention to your issues," Courtney said, noting in past elections, politicians and candidate focused on issues concerning older Americans who are more likely to vote.

"But that's changing," he said. "And it is a change that is important for the future of this country."

Traditionally, 18- to 25-year-olds avoid elections, registering the lowest percentage turnout of any age group. Most young people say they don't vote because they're not convinced their vote matters.

Courtney hopes to dispel that belief, using his victory in November as an example of how important those votes are. Courtney won by 83 votes out of more than 240,000 cast -- the closest congressional race in the country in 2006. He attributes his victory to the higher turnout of young voters.

"That was pretty shocking," said Samantha D'Anna, 16, of Plainfield, a hairdressing student.

D'Anna was one of 10 students selected to pose questions to Courtney during the hourlong assembly. The topics included gas prices, education, the war in Iraq, possible reinstatement of the draft and global warming.

There also were questions on gay marriage, which Courtney said should be left to the states to decide; and dairy farming subsidies, which he supports.

The students gave Courtney high marks for his answers.

"I understood everything he was saying about the questions we asked him," D'Anna said.

Still, his point about the impact of younger voters on changing the outcome of elections surprised her.

"I didn't get it at first," added Robert Smith, 15 and a sophomore from Plainfield, "but when you think about it, it makes sense. Every person has a different way of looking at things, so I can see where one age group could have a different opinion."

"If I leave you with one thing to remember today," Courtney said, "it's this: No group is more affected by the decisions being made in Washington, D.C., than you, the young people in this country. And Congress is paying attention because of the way young people impacted this last election."