Public Policies
I found my first public policy document from the CQ Congress Collection database. The keywords I used were “student debt,” searched together rather than separately. It does not have a specific author listed; rather, it defines the article as coming from the CQ almanac in 1992. The document was written on November 8th, 1965. The document was written in response to the increasing challenge of (middle-class) students finding or being eligible for loans for higher education. The audience of this document was first congress, but now for the American public. The contents of this document are vast; it includes the definition of higher education, antidiscrimination and the protection of students’ right to speech, the cost of higher education, administrative provisions for delivery of student financial assistance, lender and institution requirements relating to education loans, teacher quality enhancement, among many other things.
The omissions, if it can be considered one, is that of financial aid for that of the lower or working class; the CQ almanac mentions the lack of aid provided for those that come from a lower income bracket. The document I used to slightly further my understanding of the CQ article is that of the public policy itself, found through the office of legislative council (U.S. House of Representatives) website. This document relates to my topic as it relates to the issues of student debt, and how the government has even enacted Acts in order to lessen the burden of financial debt on young students. This document relates to my personal documents in that it reflects the legality and institutional issues of student debt; where I can show what it means to be a student and face financial crisis, this public policy highlights the widespread issue of students across the country; further, it shows how even the government has not only shown concern but agreed, in enacting the policy, that student debt is an issue and needs to be lessened or rectified.
I found the “Know Before You Owe Student Loan Debt Act” from the Nexis Uni database. This Bill was written by the State of New Jersey 217th Legislature. It was first written and then introduced on February 16th, 2016. This document was likely written due to the current social status of many young students; as college prices have risen dramatically in recent years, young students are being granted many types of loans, but few have the knowledge or understanding of what they are, how they work, and generally how to use and interact with them. This Bill is written for congress, to hopefully pass the bill, which then will pass to interest the public – most notably, the students affected by it. This document’s agenda is to bring awareness to students about loans, and an understanding of how they work; further, the bill wishes to spread education on loans so that students can be aware that they are allowed to refuse, or reduce, the amount of loans that they take out.
The language is very clear and precise, as a Bill for legislation has no room for interpretation or unnecessary word use. This document would heavily relate to my topic, as it would affect today’s students or upcoming students; it would possibly even affect myself as well as my classmates. It answers my research question in that it directly proposes a solution, or a partial solution, to the monumental issue of today’s student debt crisis. Although it is not a solution for those who have already accrued student debt, it aims to possibly reduce the debt of upcoming students, which will help reduce student debt in the years to come, and lessen the financial burden for younger generations to gain a higher education. What is very interesting about this document is that it relates heavily to my personal documents, as it pertains to students of my age or slightly younger; this bill could pertain to a recent picture of myself as a college student, as this bill could affect myself and my friends specifically.
