PROFILE
Seth Stern
Guest
FROM Seth Stern
Which Way, L.A.?
Student Loans: Does Public Money Need Private Administration? The big news on Sunday was House passage of healthcare reform and the so-called " reconciliation " bill that now goes to the Senate. Hardly noticed was that "reconciliation" also included the biggest change in the student loan program since 1965.
To the Point
Student Loans: Does Public Money Need Private Administration? The scenario is all too familiar: increased demand and rising costs; diminishing revenues during a major recession. It's not healthcare, it's higher education. Yet -- almost without notice -- the two were packaged together in the reconciliation bill passed by the House on Sunday. The biggest student-loan change in 45 years would eliminate private middlemen in favor of government lending directly to struggling students. Some, but not all, of $61 billion in savings would go to Pell Grants for the neediest. Not one Republican voted for it. We hear the pros and cons.
To the Point
Sotomayor's Questions Come to an End At today's Senate confirmation hearing , Lindsay Graham told Judge Sonia Sotomayor her record shows she's not a "radical" after all. But the South Carolina Republican said her now-famous " wise Latina " remark and other things she has said, as Graham put it, "bug the hell out of me." Seth Stern is legal analyst for CQ Politics.com .
To the Point
House Panel Approves Subpoenas for Top White House Aides On a voice vote, a House Judiciary subcommittee has authorized subpoenas of top White House aides on the firing of eight US Attorneys. Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) rejected White House Counsel Fred Fielding's offer that Karl Rove and Harriet Miers testify behind closed doors, without being sworn and without any transcript of their testimony. Conyers will decide if the subpoenas actually will be issued. Republicans called the authorization "premature" and President Bush said he'll go to court to prevent a "public spectacle." Keith Perrine is legal affairs reporter for Congressional Quarterly .
Recommended
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Left, Right & Center
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.