sallie mae
broke feddie?<div>
</div><div><h1 class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">includes Sallie, student loans</font></h1><h1 class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">---</font></h1><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
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</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">defrauded by countrywide</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 23px; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="27" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2012/06/norquist-quits-interview-when-asked-about-his-fannie-mae-lobbying/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Norquist quits interview when asked about his Fannie Mae ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv SWb" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="Rm" style="font-style: normal;">www.rawstory.com/.../<b>norquist</b>-quits-interview-when-aske...</cite> </font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 0px 3px; vertical-align: middle; user-select: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Fmb ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b0" aria-label="Result details" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="0ahUKEwiJsO_ghuTLAhVL6mMKHYTgD5QQ7B0IHTAA" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none; user-select: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; background-image: none;" /> </font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="0ahUKEwiJsO_ghuTLAhVL6mMKHYTgD5QQqR8IHjAA" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); 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position: relative; margin-left: 4px;"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:0;ri:;site:rawstory.com" data-async-trigger="cra-0-filled" jsaction="crd.tglpop" data-ved="0ahUKEwiJsO_ghuTLAhVL6mMKHYTgD5QQ5CsIIDAA" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block;">The Raw Story</div></div></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="f">Jun 26, 2012 -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>As<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Norquist</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>turned to leave the conversation, one of the reporters noted he used to be a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">lobbyist</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fannie</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Mae but now he criticizes them.</font></span></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 23px; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="34" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.redstate.com/erick/2011/05/18/turns-out-grover-norquist-lobbied-for-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Turns Out Grover Norquist Lobbied For Fannie Mae and ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv _SWb" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="Rm" style="font-style: normal;">www.redstate.com/.../turns-out-grover-<b>norquist</b>-lobbied-for-<b>fan</b>...</cite> </font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 0px 3px; vertical-align: middle; 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z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:xBq-gFgURAgJ:www.redstate.com/erick/2011/05/18/turns-out-grover-norquist-lobbied-for-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac/+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></li></ol></div></div><div class="crc" style="display: inline-block; position: relative; margin-left: 4px;"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:1;ri:;site:redstate.com" data-async-trigger="cra-1-filled" jsaction="crd.tglpop" data-ved="0ahUKEwiJsO_ghuTLAhVL6mMKHYTgD5QQ5CsIJzAB" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block;">RedState</div></div></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="f">May 18, 2011 -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>One of the more interesting clients for Mr.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Norquist</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>was<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fannie</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Mae. In 2000, Janus Merit received $120,000 in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">lobbying</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>fees from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fannie</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Mae.</font></span></div></div></div><div class="g" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 23px; widows: 1; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="rc" data-hveid="41" style="position: relative;"><h3 class="r" style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/10006-video-grover-norquist-struggles-to-explain-taking-money-from-big-pharma-his-fanny-mae-lobbying-past" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">Grover Norquist Struggles To Explain Taking Money From ...</font></a></h3><div class="s" style="max-width: 42em; line-height: 18px;"><div class="f kv _SWb" style="height: 17px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><cite class="Rm" style="font-style: normal;">www.truth-out.org/.../10006-video-grover-<b>norquist</b>-struggles-to...</cite> </font><div class="action-menu ab_ctl" style="display: inline; position: relative; margin: 0px 3px; vertical-align: middle; user-select: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="Fmb ab_button" href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#" id="am-b2" aria-label="Result details" aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" role="button" jsaction="m.tdd;keydown:m.hbke;keypress:m.mskpe" data-ved="0ahUKEwiJsO_ghuTLAhVL6mMKHYTgD5QQ7B0IKzAC" style="border-radius: 0px; cursor: default; font-weight: bold; height: 12px; line-height: 27px; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; transition: none; user-select: none; border: 0px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 0px 0px; filter: none; width: 13px; text-decoration-line: none; display: inline-block; background-image: none;" /> </font><div class="action-menu-panel ab_dropdown" role="menu" tabindex="-1" jsaction="keydown:m.hdke;mouseover:m.hdhne;mouseout:m.hdhue" data-ved="0ahUKEwiJsO_ghuTLAhVL6mMKHYTgD5QQqR8ILDAC" style="border: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); padding: 0px; position: absolute; right: auto; top: 12px; z-index: 3; transition: opacity 0.218s; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 2px 4px; left: 0px; visibility: hidden; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><ol style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" /><li class="action-menu-item ab_dropdownitem" role="menuitem" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; list-style: none; user-select: none; cursor: pointer;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a class="fl" href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Cvc1ZAWgAtYJ:www.truth-out.org/news/item/10006-video-grover-norquist-struggles-to-explain-taking-money-from-big-pharma-his-fanny-mae-lobbying-past+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us" style="text-decoration-line: none; cursor: pointer; display: block; padding: 7px 18px; outline: 0px;" /></font></li></ol></div></div><div class="crc" style="display: inline-block; position: relative; margin-left: 4px;"><div class="crl" data-async-context="res:2;ri:;site:truth-out.org" data-async-trigger="cra-2-filled" jsaction="crd.tglpop" data-ved="0ahUKEwiJsO_ghuTLAhVL6mMKHYTgD5QQ5CsILjAC" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block;">Truthout</div></div></div><span class="st" style="line-height: 1.4; word-wrap: break-word;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Grover<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Norquist</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Struggles To Explain Taking Money From Big Pharma, His<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fanny</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Mae<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lobbying</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Past. Tuesday, 26 June 2012 14:22 By Zaid Jilani, Republic ...</font></span></div></div></div><p class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><p class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> =</font></p><p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1443117461654_2055" style="margin: 0.9em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Each year, the collective student loan debt skyrockets as tuitions continue to rise and graduates compete for scarce jobs with stagnant wages. From 2011 to 2013, the amount of debt held by recent graduates increased a whopping 20%, reaching a total more than $1.2 trillion.</font></p><p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1443117461654_2054" style="margin: 0.9em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As students struggle to pay off their loans, big banks and financial institutions are spending millions to influence elections and prevent policy solutions that might hinder their profits. Every year, Wall Street companies rake in almost $45 billion in revenue from higher education, largely derived from student loans.</font></p><p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1443117461654_2053" style="margin: 0.9em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Last year, the student loan industry spent $4.5 million on lobbying efforts, followed by $1 million in political contributions. Sallie Mae, a publicly traded company and the nation’s biggest student loan lender, has spent about $3 million every year since 2007 to lobby against bills that would aid college graduates. </font></p><p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1443117461654_2052" style="margin: 0.9em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">While young Americans and their families are desperate for a lifeline, Congress continues to push their own agenda and that of their donors ahead of voters.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.9em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://org2.salsalabs.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=jV%2BqCTEx1TP745pl7E1pe9Hdi2klmfvn" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background: transparent;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">We are calling on Sallie Mae to stop using its profits from student loans to fund politicians and policies that hurt young Americans and their families.</font></a></p><p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1443117461654_2051" style="margin: 0.9em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Lawmakers who side with Sallie Mae on key issues have collected more money on average than those who have not. With the right sized check, Sallie Mae is able to make and keep friends in Congress while securing policies that increase profits.</font></p><p id="yui_3_16_0_1_1443117461654_2049" style="margin: 0.9em 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">When it comes to Sallie Mae’s bottom line, there’s no politician or policy that costs too much. And sadly, American students and their families are paying the price.</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></p><p class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></p><div class="timestamp" style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; margin-top: 15px; white-space: nowrap; line-height: normal;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">September 30, 2013</font></div><h1 style="font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.083em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Freddie Mac and Wells Fargo Settle on Loans</font></h1><h6 class="byline" style="margin: 2px 0px; line-height: 1.2em;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">By<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span itemprop="author creator" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person"><span itemprop="name">REUTERS</span></span></font></h6><p><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><div id="articleBody"><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/wells_fargo_and_company/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about Wells Fargo & Company" class="meta-org" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Wells Fargo</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>said on Monday that it would pay $780 million in cash to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/freddie_mac/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about Freddie Mac" class="meta-org" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Freddie Mac</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to resolve substantially all repurchase liabilities on home loans sold to Freddie before 2009.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The settlement was reached Friday and totaled $869 million before adjusting for credits related to previous loan repurchases.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wells Fargo announced the settlement five days after<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a title="Previous coverage of the case." href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/26/business/citigroup-to-pay-395-million-to-settle-freddie-mac-claims.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Citigroup agreed to pay Freddie</a>, the government-controlled mortgage company, $395 million to settle similar claims over about 3.7 million mortgages sold from 2000 to 2012. Citigroup is the third-largest American bank by assets.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest American bank by assets, said the cost of its agreement was covered by reserves.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">On Aug. 7, Wells Fargo estimated a probable $2.2 billion loss over claims that it had breached representations and warranties in the sale of mortgage loans.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">It was unclear how much of the latest settlement related to Wachovia, which Wells Fargo bought at the end of 2008.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Freddie Mac and its larger rival Fannie Mae, which both received federal bailouts in 2008, have pushed banks to buy back mortgages that soured during the nation’s housing downturn.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Banks can be required to buy back loans if the representations and warranties over how well the loans were underwritten, and whether borrowers could afford them, prove false.</font></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Freddie did not respond to a request for comment. Wells Fargo declined to comment, citing a “quiet period” before its Oct. 11 release of third-quarter results.</font></p></div><p class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"> </font></p><p class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p><h1 class="title" style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 21.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">After Student Protests, Sallie Mae Becomes 50th Corporation to Dump ALEC</font></h1><div id="content-content" class="content-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 17.6px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div id="node-12237" class="node odd full-node node-type-news_article" style="margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; padding: 0px;"><div class="inner" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="meta" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="submitted" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">by <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/users/35275/brendan-fischer" title="View user profile." style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Brendan Fischer</a> — September 9, 2013 - 8:34am</font></span></div><div class="terms" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 14.4px;"><div class="tags-2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><ul><li class="vocabulary-2" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 16.8px; list-style-type: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Topics: <span class="term-54" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/activism" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Activism</a></span>, <span class="term-59" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/corporations" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Corporations</a></span>, <span class="term-60" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/democracy" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Democracy</a></span>, <span class="term-87" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/education" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Education</a></span>, <span class="term-70" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/topics/politics" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Politics</a></span></font></li></ul></div><div class="tags-9" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><ul><li class="vocabulary-9" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 16.8px; list-style-type: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Projects: <span class="term-737" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.prwatch.org/projects/alec-exposed" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">ALEC Exposed</a></span></font></li></ul></div></div><div class="content clearfix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p><a class="da2a_button" href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save#url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.prwatch.org%2Fnews%2F2013%2F09%2F12237%2Fafter-student-protests-sallie-mae-becomes-50th-corporation-dump-alec%26title=After%20Student%20Protests%2C%20Sallie%20Mae%20Becomes%2050th%20Corporation%20to%20Dump%20ALEC%26description=" id="da2a_1" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000"><img src="/ec92c34f-8792-5fe8-9fd2-2eec19ee56f0.png"/> Share this</font></a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Sallie Mae has dropped its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) after a student-led campaign demanding that the nation's largest student loan lender cut ties with the controversial organization. Sallie Mae is the 50th corporation to publicly drop its ALEC membership in the past year-and-a-half as the organization has come under increasing public scrutiny.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"It's a terrific victory for the students, community members, and unions members that were involved," said Chris Hicks, Student Debt Campaign Organizer at Jobs With Justice. "It's no accident that Sallie Mae has decided to leave ALEC -- from the shareholder meeting in May and the meeting students and graduates had with CEO Jack Remondi in June to the nearly 15,000 petition signatures gathered in August, students have shown Sallie Mae they are serious about their demands and are not going away."</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Many students and young people were outraged that a company that profits from student debt would use their loan payments to fund ALEC, which (among other things) works to make the education system a for-profit endeavor and advances laws that make it harder for many college students to vote.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In August, before ALEC's Annual Meeting in Chicago, organizers with the Student Labor Action Project, Jobs With Justice, and the United States Students Association <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/uprising/entry/15446/students_confront_alecs_assault_on_higher_education/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">gathered nearly 15,000 signatures on a petition</a>demanding Sallie Mae drop its ALEC membership. A few months earlier, in May,<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/06/12131/students-petition-sallie-mae-transparency-and-better-deal-student-loans" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">at least 200 student activists protested</a> outside Sallie Mae's annual shareholder meeting, demanding that it end its relationship with ALEC and increase transparency about its other lobbying and political activities. CEO Jack Remondi agreed to meet with students the following month, but at the time appeared to reject their demands.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The announcement that Sallie Mae dumped ALEC came quietly, <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20130908/BUSINESS05/309080022/Sallie-Mae-drawing-all-around-fire?nclick_check=1" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">in a September 7 article in the <em>Delaware News-Journal</em></a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"The noise level was distracting from the original business purpose," Martha Holler, a senior vice president at Sallie Mae, told the News-Journal. "We will pursue other venues in which to share our collections expertise with state and local governments, and hopefully now our discussions with students ... can focus on what matters most to us all, the success of our education loan customers."</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"There is much more work to be done, but this is definitely a first step to hold Sallie Mae accountable for their business practices that we can all celebrate," Hicks said.</font></p><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC Increasingly Focused on Higher Education</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">For decades, ALEC has promoted the privatization of K-12 education through voucher programs that re-route taxpayer dollars to for-profit schools. But it has increasingly focused on imposing the same privatization agenda on higher education, with bills like the "College Opportunity Fund Act" that essentially create a taxpayer-funded voucher for for-profit and religious schools.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">And, ALEC has adopted several bills to impose a standardized testing regime on public colleges and universities, which on the K-12 level has altered the classroom dynamic and interfered with teaching, for example with "The Collegiate Learning Assessment Bill," which was <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/08/12203/whats-alecs-agenda-its-40th-anniversary-meeting-chicago" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">considered at ALEC's August meeting in Chicago</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC still counts among its members Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit college chain that operates campuses under names like Everest, Heald, and WyoTech. Corinthian has become notorious for aggressive recruiting practices and leaving students unprepared for the job market and saddled with massive student loan debts. Nationally, over 40 percent of Corinthian's students default on their loans, and only 60% of students complete their coursework.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Perhaps not surprisingly, ALEC has a "Resolution in Support of Private Sector Colleges and Universities."</font></p><h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Youth Activists Focus On ALEC</font></h2><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Student opposition to ALEC is not limited to its role in higher education.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ALEC has helped advance the strict voter ID laws that have swept the country in recent years, which make it harder to vote for many young people who don't have the forms of identification required under the laws. Student activists have also singled-out ALEC's opposition to living wage standards, which makes it more difficult to work through school, and bills that make young people (particularly young people of color) less safe, such as Stand Your Ground laws and bills like the "Campus Personal Protection Act" that promote guns on college campuses.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The Dream Defenders occupied Florida Governor Rick Scott's offices for weeks earlier this summer demanding a repeal of the state's ALEC-approved Stand Your Ground law. And that group and others involved with the We Got Next coalition <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/08/12222/march-washington-alec-exposed" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">marched on ALEC's offices</a> on August 23, the day before the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">"We're tired of how [ALEC] has manipulated the legislative process, and we want to let them know we won't continue to stand by," said Kim Moore, an activist and organizer with We Got Next.</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">With the departure of Sallie Mae, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Corporations_that_Have_Cut_Ties_to_ALEC" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">at least 50 corporations</a> and six nonprofits have publicly cut ties to ALEC since the Center for Media and Democracy launched ALECexposed.org in 2011 (although Wells Fargo has<a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/08/12208/more-white-space-more-corporations-drop-alecs-conference-brochure" target="_blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">recently begun funding</a> the group again).</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px;"><i><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></i></p></div></div></div></div></div>