U.S. Sen. Barack Obama Joins Education Committee
Appointment provides forum for possible presidential candidate to talk
about one of his chief priorities.
By Charles Dervarics
The Democratic takeover of the U.S. Senate promises to bring student aid issues to the forefront and to give Blacks a stronger voice, especially now that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is set to join that chamber’s education panel.
By winning a narrow majority in the November midterm elections, Democrats earn more seats on all Senate panels, including the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. As a result, Obama will join the panel along with U.S. Sen.-Elect Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Democrats will also assign a third new seat to U.S. Sen.-Elect Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., an independent who plans to work closely with the Democrats.
U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., incoming chair of the Senate education panel, announced Obama’s appointment in a mid-November briefing in which he also unveiled plans to focus on Pell Grants and student loan reform.
“Today, students and families are pinching every penny to save for college, and it’s not enough,” Kennedy said. “With the House and Senate under new management, next year we will provide needed help to families struggling to put their children through college.”
Kennedy said Senate Democrats will push for at least four reforms, including cutting loan interest rates and capping loan repayments at no more than 15 percent of a student’s annual income.
