COHEAO Accomplishments and Activities In 2004-2005

The last half of 2004 and the first half of 2005 - especially the first half of 2005 - have changed the dynamic of COHEAO and certainly modified the mission of our organization. As national elections approached 2004 ground slowly to a halt with little accomplished. Higher Education Act reauthorization was put off and appropriations bills were mostly postponed until after the election.

As 2005 began, COHEAO and the Perkins Loan Program faced perhaps the biggest challenge in their history. By now, you are well aware of what happened. The Perkins Loan Capital Contribution was not funded for the current fiscal year, and the President's budget for Fiscal Year 2006 called for the elimination of the program.

As a result, COHEAO has launched a new era of activism and engagement. All COHEAO members were asked to help advocate for the Perkins Loan Program, and we are actively seeking reinforcements - additional members. The future of the program is at stake.

Legislative activities in Washington dominated the time of the COHEAO staff, with occasional regulatory-related initiatives. At the same time, the COHEAO leadership has continued to work to modernize and improve the operations of the organization and service to members. At the January meeting, the Board of Directors, realizing that a crisis was at hand, authorized the expenditure of a portion of the COHEAO financial reserves to fund additional public relations and grassroots activism. This includes:

• Additional public relations and grassroots work by Washington Partners;
• A major upgrade of the COHEAO web page to facilitate Congressional contacts;
• Bi-weekly weekly conference calls with grassroots leaders accompanying weekly e-mail updates;
• Full membership calls to provide legislative updates;
• Expanded meeting and mailing expenses; and
• Support for the Student Aid Alliance expanded activities.

All of these activities have required additional, extraordinary, expenses needed to preserve the Perkins Loan program now and for future generations. The vast majority of COHEAO's operating revenues come from membership dues, so the ability of COHEAO to continue these activities depends heavily on the support of current members and the addition of new members.

In Washington, COHEAO has worked in two ways - continuing to work to save the Perkins Loan program and seeking funding in the annual appropriations process. The calls by the Bush Administration to eliminate the program have made this a difficult struggle, but we continue to believe that the program will be preserved, although the capital contribution is a more difficult task.

The main House reauthorization bill of the 108th Congress, H.R. 4283 by Representatives John Boehner (R-OH) and Buck McKeon (R-CA), reauthorized Perkins and included several COHEAO proposals for improvements. This demonstrated the continuing support for Perkins in the House Education and the Workforce Committee. This support for the Perkins Loan Program is apparent on both sides of the aisle - but it doesn't just happen automatically. COHEAO staff and members work month in and month out to make sure Congress and Congressional staff know what the issues are and that the program enjoys strong support.

When the 109th Congress took office in January 2005, COHEAO sought assurances that the Congress would not follow the President's recommendations to eliminate the Perkins program. We were pleased that Boehner and McKeon re-introduced the nearly identical legislation as was introduced in the 108th Congress, numbered H.R. 609 this year. That bill also reauthorizes the Perkins Loan Program and includes Perkins Loan borrowing limit increases.

COHEAO re-submitted its reauthorization proposals to both the House and Senate this year. The Senate never introduced its version of Higher Education Act reauthorization in the 108th Congress. This year, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) became the new chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Anticipating this, COHEAO invited Enzi's main higher education staff person to speak to the Mid-Year Meeting in Philadelphia in August 2004. COHEAO staff have continued to work closely with the HELP Committee members and staff in the Senate as well as House members and staff in support of the Perkins Loan program.

With the threat to the Perkins program, COHEAO worked closely with allies in the higher education community and also covered our flank to ensure that the FFELP lending community was supportive of continuing Perkins Loans. The COHEAO message resonates with the other higher education organizations, which means that COHEAO's position on Perkins Loan funding is included in informational material used on Capital Hill by the Student Aid Alliance, the Committee for Education Funding, the American Council on Education, NASFAA, NAICU, NACUBO and others. Perkins Loans moved up the list of priorities to near the top for the other higher education associations, behind only Pell Grants, because everyone realizes that elimination of Perkins would remove a significant source of financial aid from all participating campuses. COHEAO contributed $5,000 extra to the Student Aid Alliance to help cover the cost of its increased activities to support student aid funding.

COHEAO has continued to directly rebut the Administration's positions on Perkins Loans, meeting with Administration officials and, importantly, publishing a rebuttal to the infamous Performance Assessment Rating Tool, the "PART" report that was used by the Administration as justification for eliminating Perkins. COHEAO also submitted a detailed rebuttal of the Administration's budget proposal to every member of the House Appropriations Committee as well as to members of the education policy committees in the House and Senate.

On the regulatory front, several COHEAO Board Members participated in the Department of Education Spring Meeting and the accompanying workshops on the ADvance system in Reno in March. COHEAO submitted a comment on ADvance, offering to assist in implementing the system for Perkins Loans. COHEAO continued to work informally with Department officials on various issues that arise, including most recently clarification of rules for in-school loan consolidation.

On a very positive note, COHEAO awarded eight scholarships of $1,000 each to highly deserving students at colleges around the country. One scholarship was the first annual Carolyn Hampton Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded annually in memory of COHEAO Board Member Carolyn Hampton, who passed away last year.

A combination of contributions in memory of Carolyn, dues and the new record proceeds from the silent auction that took place at the annual conference financed the scholarship awards.

COHEAO continues to host activities that are designed to enhance the professional development of its members. These include:

• A successful and well-attended annual meeting in the Washington, DC area in January, highlighted by breakfast visits from Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Chairman Ralph Regula (R-OH) and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth (D-SD), along with several key Hill staff and sessions on eOscar, regulatory issues and other important issues;
• A successful Mid-Year meeting, which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in early August. The meeting heard from Appropriations Committee member Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), senior Department of Education manager David Bergeron, a panel discussion of the campus-based funding allocation formula, a talk by the Department ombudsman, and more;
• A teleconference on the E-Oscar system being used by credit bureaus;
• A teleconference on Grassroots lobbying; and
• An upcoming Mid-Year Conference (July 31- August 2) in Newport Beach, California.

COHEAO strives to provide and constantly improve basic services to its members. Every two weeks, one of the most comprehensive higher education-oriented newsletters around, The Torch, is delivered to every COHEAO member, providing a useful and sometimes entertaining summary of student financial assistance and higher education-related activities, as well as reporting on COHEAO actions.

The COHEAO web site underwent a major redesign and update, which is continuing with improved member information, a way to directly write your Congressman or Senators, and continually updated grassroots information. New upgrades also include adding the ability to pay dues with a credit card in addition to conference fees, along with a better credit card payment system. And dues bills are being sent this year electronically for the first time.

We need your support and for your organization, and we ask that you encourage others to join. Working together, we can succeed in our goals.

If you have any questions or comments, please call Alisa Abadinsky, COHEAO President, at 312-413-1971, or Harrison Wadsworth, Executive Director, at 202-289-3900.