Actually, Congress was controlled by the GOP for 17 years, until 2008 when Dems had a majority for the first time in a very long time.
Composition of Congress, by Political Party, 1855–2013
That's bad enough For The People, but all hell broke loose when George W Bush became President. With a GOP Executive and GOP majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, 50% of The American People didn't stand a chance of having true representation.
Corruption spiked hugely. 2000 - 2005 was Party Time for the Republications. All their crazy plans were launched into law by The Rubber Stamp Congress. They voted in Lock Step.
STUDENT LOANS: One of the most egregious acts of the 106th Rubber Stamp Congress was the rewrite of long established Bankruptcy Laws that are now devastating both Credit Card and Student Loan debtors.
Remind your Conservative friends who is mostly responsible for the Student Loan Disaster today. The George W. Bush Rubber Stamp Congress - 109th Congress led by such notables as
Dick Cheney, Senate President
William Harrison "Bill" Frist, Sr., Senate Majority Leader
Ted Stevens, Senate President pro tem
Dennis Hastert, House Speaker
Tom Delay, House Majority Leader
The team that changed Bankruptcy Laws that favored Credit Card and Student Loan Debt holders was very notable, in fact:
21 Legislators from 109th Congress Investigated for Corruption
For the New, Young Voters on the Block, make sure they know history, what happens when the GOP holds absolute power over the Executive, Senate, and House of Representatives. This knowledge should inspire fear of a repeat sufficient to get out the vote against the GOP we can hope. But not if we don't share the facts with them.
Have them watch Bill Moyers excellent Exposé, Capital Crimes, you will find the complete video presentations at the link. Here's a snippet the EXPOSES HOW SLIMY GROVER NORQUIST IS:
Could politics be more corrupt than it was in this period. It's possible. The hens watching the henhouse is a henhouse ripe for corruption and cronyism.
We can thank the following Congress Members for Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005:
Senator Chuck Grassley, Sponsor
Co-Sponsors
D - Sen Carper, Thomas R. [DE] - 2/1/2005
R - Sen Crapo, Mike [ID] - 2/7/2005
R - Sen DeMint, Jim [SC] - 2/7/2005
R - Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] - 2/1/2005
R - Sen Hagel, Chuck [NE] - 3/3/2005
R - Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] - 2/1/2005
D - Sen Nelson, E. Benjamin [NE] - 2/1/2005
R - Sen Sessions, Jeff [AL] - 2/1/2005
R - Sen Shelby, Richard C. [AL] - 2/1/2005
R - Sen Sununu, John E. [NH] - 2/3/2005
R - Sen Thune, John [SD] - 2/1/2005
R - Sen Vitter, David [LA] - 2/16/2005
Nice work, guys. And that Dem from Deleware. Shame on you! Then again, Carper represents the Credit Card Capital of America - Delaware.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Number of Republicans voting against this the new Bankruptcy Law in 2005 = ZERO!
No surprise there.
125 Democrats voted against this bill.
But Damn! 73 Democrats voted for the new Bankruptcy Law 2005!
Are they DINOs (Dem in Name Only)? We do have to remember that this was the 109th Congress.
It was also back when EARMARKS were still in full swing. The "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" form of cooperation between parties in Congress or The Across the Aisle congenialty still existed in 2005. That has since died off.
Still, perhaps this list can help you discern who represents your interests in your area if you are a Democrat.
Or perhaps, if they are still in office, begin a dialogue with them now.
Ask why they voted yes for this bill? Do they regret that YEA vote? Ask if they will work to change the harmful, unfair aspects of the bill. Start a group in your area and pressure your congress members before we start losing people to suicide over the pressure being put on people who, through no fault of their own because of the Recession/Depression, can't pay their student loans and debts.
Surely, there must be some new laws that can be written to keep debt from escalating at up to 30% per annum just for interest PLUS fees that I guess they can make up as they go.
The Democratic List of Shame
YEA D Cramer, Robert “Bud” AL 5th
YEA D Davis, Artur AL 7th
YEA D Berry, Robert “Marion” AR 1st
YEA D Ross, Mike AR 4th
YEA D Pastor, Edward “Ed” AZ 4th
YEA D Thompson, Michael “Mike” CA 1st
YEA D Costa, Jim CA 20th
YEA D Harman, Jane CA 36th
YEA D Baca, Joe CA 43rd
YEA D Salazar, John
YEA D Boyd, Allen FL 2nd
YEA D Davis, James “Jim” FL 11th
YEA D Meek, Kendrick FL 17th
YEA D Scott, David GA 13th
YEA D Case, Ed HI 2nd
YEA D Boswell, Leonard IA 3rd
YEA D Bean, Melissa IL 8th
YEA D Moore, Dennis KS 3rd
YEA D Chandler, Ben KY 6th
YEA D Jefferson, William LA 2nd
YEA D Melancon, Charles LA 3rd
YEA D Ruppersberger, Dutch MD 2nd
YEA D Wynn, Albert MD 4th
YEA D Hoyer, Steny MD 5th
YEA D Michaud, Michael ME 2nd
YEA D Peterson, Collin MN 7th
YEA D Skelton, Ike MO 4th
YEA D Cleaver, Emanuel MO 5th
YEA D Taylor, Gene MS 4th
YEA D Etheridge, Bob NC 2nd
YEA D Price, David NC 4th
YEA D McIntyre, Mike NC 7th
YEA D Pomeroy, Earl ND
YEA D Andrews, Robert “Rob” NJ 1st
YEA D Rothman, Steven NJ 9th
YEA D Menéndez, Robert “Bob” NJ 13th
YEA D Israel, Steve NY 2nd
YEA D McCarthy, Carolyn NY 4th
YEA D Meeks, Gregory NY 6th
YEA D Crowley, Joseph NY 7th
YEA D Higgins, Brian NY 27th
YEA D Strickland, Ted OH 6th
YEA D Boren, Dan OK 2nd
YEA D Wu, David OR 1st
YEA D Hooley, Darlene OR 5th
YEA D Murtha, John PA 12th
YEA D Schwartz, Allyson PA 13th
YEA D Holden, Tim PA 17th
YEA D Spratt, John SC 5th
YEA D Herseth Sandlin, Stephanie SD
YEA D Davis, Lincoln TN 4th
YEA D Cooper, Jim TN 5th
YEA D Gordon, Barton “Bart” TN 6th
YEA D Tanner, John TN 8th
YEA D Ford, Harold TN 9th
YEA D Green, Al TX 9th
YEA D Hinojosa, Rubén TX 15th
YEA D Reyes, Silvestre TX 16th
YEA D Edwards, Thomas “Chet” TX 17th
YEA D Gonzalez, Charles “Charlie” TX 20th
YEA D Ortiz, Solomon TX 27th
YEA D Cuellar, Henry TX 28th
YEA D Matheson, Jim UT 2nd
YEA D Moran, James “Jim” VA 8th
YEA D Boucher, Frederick “Rick” VA 9th
YEA D Larsen, Rick WA 2nd
YEA D Baird, Brian WA 3rd
YEA D Kind, Ronald “Ron” WI 3rd
YEA D Mollohan, Alan WV 1st
YEA D Rahall, Nick WV 3rd
SENATE VOTE
Republicans voting against this the new Bankruptcy Law in 2005 = ZERO!
Again, no surprise.
But DAMN! 19 Democrats voted for this bill! They are:
YEA D Lincoln, Blanche AR
YEA D Pryor, Mark AR
YEA D Salazar, Ken CO
YEA D Biden, Joseph DE
YEA D Carper, Thomas DE
YEA D Nelson, Bill FL
YEA D Inouye, Daniel HI
YEA D Bayh, Evan IN
YEA D Landrieu, Mary LA
YEA D Stabenow, Debbie Ann MI
YEA D Baucus, Max MT
YEA D Conrad, Kent ND
YEA D Nelson, Ben NE
YEA D Bingaman, Jeff NM
YEA D Reid, Harry NV
YEA D Specter, Arlen PA
YEA D Johnson, Tim SD
YEA D Kohl, Herbert “Herb” WI
YEA D Byrd, Robert WV
NO VOTE D Clinton, Hillary NY
Harry Reid and Joe Biden! This doesn't bode well for change. But really guys, allowing Disability Checks to be garnished? This is freaking heartless. Fix it!
What else is new? WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR CHANGE!
And we are fighting. Check out these action groups. Get involved
USSTUDENTS.org
StudentLoanJustice.org
This article demonstrates the disaster that has been created since this bill passed.
Show it to your Representatives and Senators in Congress. Hound them!
SHOW ME THE PAPERWORK: Are Many Student Loans Uncollectible?
Attached to the article are many comments with additional links.
The proof is presented in the article above-referenced.
1. Student Lenders are not maintaining proper records and student loans, like mortgages, are sold to others, etc.
2. Good people are getting buried in fees and high interest rates because they can't find a decent paying job.
3. Many student loan debtors were given poor, incorrect information about the school and the terms of the loans.
4. People are not receiving itemized statements to see what exactly they borrowed and what the present debt total consists of. What fees and when they were added? Is interest collected on the fees?
I've heard enough stories to warrant alarm. The stress of the unrelenting burden of phone calls from collectors, liens and garnishment threats and actions, and the realization that there is no way they will ever be able to pay the debt off because of how fees, interest, and principal payments are allocated will cause horrors if it hasn't already.
The Student Loan crisis and the lack of accountability to the debtors is looking much worse than the even the mortgage crisis.
Where are the judges who will demand proof of standing and proper documentation?
Back in the spring of 2010, before the Tea Party/GOP took over control of the Senate and House, some Democrats tried to roll back some of the most egregious parts of the 2005 Bankruptcy rewrite.
Proposed Legislation Allows Discharge of Private Student Loans in Bankruptcy
Contact those who worked on this now-dead proposed legislation. Let's expose the GOP for the heartless, greed sponsors they are. And let's chastise those Democrats that joined in on changing our bankruptcy laws in favor of the lenders.
Lendors got bailed out, we got sold out. What next?
Will they ask for our first borns? Take whatever inheritance we might receive? Force us to join the military to pay off these loans + fees + usary interest? Create labor camps for debtors? Sell us to China as chattel to pay off our national debt? Refuse to provide education for children of parents with student loan defaults? Black list defalters so they can't get jobs (this happened to medical students who defaulted on fed med loans, btw)
Will the pain trickle down for generations.
Or will the Congress and President take a look and do what is in the best interest of ALL of the economy and stop protecting the lenders?
Will they ever address higher education for Americans, making sure it is affordable, accessible, and protected from predation? And admit that they majorly screwed up in 2005!
Exceptional USA funnels College Students into private lender student loans: