I’ve got some college loan debt to take care of when I’m done with my schooling.  Granted, it’s not as much as many others, but I was lucky and able to get scholarships to help me out.  That aside, the debt that comes from student loans is suffocating a lot of people, and the bad economy is making it worse for college grads.  Now, the House of Representatives did its part to fix the mess, passing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.  Now the Senate is debating its own version of the bill, and the student loan industry is fighting to keep its government subsidies. (We’re talking private lenders here mind you.)  They’re lobbying members of Congress, and guess who Think Progress caught rushing to their aide.  That’s right, Blanche Lincoln (among others).

In a brief letter dated Tuesday, Democratic Sens. Bill Nelson (Fl.), Tom Carper (Del.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Jim Webb (Va.), Mark Warner (Va.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.) describe reform to the country’s “higher education funding” system as a “priority.” But the group…also express concerns the Senate’s lending bill could ultimately result in local job loss.

According to Think Progress, these sell outs are citing concerns about local job loss in the student loan industry.  However, there apparently isn’t much to validate their concerns:

While the senators may be claiming that passing SAFRA would result in job losses in their states, the truth is that it would be minimal at worst. The fact is that only 30,000 people at most are employed in the student lending industry. And because the companies would still be in charge of servicing all the government issued loans, servicing jobs could actually increase.

Arkansas has 92 people employed by the Federal Family Education Loan Program, all of whom will probably still have job security after this act passes.  The number of 18-24 year old college students in Arkansas whose futures are at stake is much greater.  But who’s Blanche Lincoln fighting for?  That’s right, the lenders.  If I was Bill Halter, I’d be trumpeting that in every college town across the state.