A last-minute petition by University students did not change U.S. Rep. Richard Baker’s vote to cut $12.7 billion from student loan programs.
Baker, who represents Baton Rouge and the 6th District, voted Wednesday in a 216-214 U.S. House vote to approve a deficit-reduction measure. All Louisiana Republicans voted to approve the measure, and both Democrats voted to reject the measure in the highly-partisan vote.
According to a news release from the public-interest group Campaign for America’s Future, this passage will make Louisiana students each pay $1,757 more in college loans.
Laura Robichaux, finance junior, and Christopher Dodd, mathematics freshman, hand-delivered the petition to Baker’s Baton Rouge office at noon Wednesday. The petition, signed by more than 75 University students, was crafted by Ben Smilowitz, a Washington University in St. Louis alumnus.
Smilowitz volunteered as a Red Cross Hurricane Katrina disaster-relief worker in Gulfport, Miss., from Sept. 10 to Oct. 6, 2005. After returning home, Smilowitz founded the Katrina Accountability Project, designed to unite Gulf Coast residents and build political power.
“The disaster is so huge,” Smilowitz said. “The federal government wasn’t responding. They just dropped the ball.”
Smilowitz said he wrote the petition and forwarded it to various Gulf Coast schools with the hope that it could make a difference.
“Who in Congress actually cares about Louisiana and Mississippi?” Smilowitz said. “They’re there to come through in the clutch. They have so much money and so many resources.”
When Robichaux and Dodd delivered the petition, Robichaux said they were treated cordially by Baker’s staff but did not know if their message was taken seriously.
“It’s going to take a lot more,” Robichaux said. “People need to speak up.”
Dodd said he went to the office with hopes that he could change Baker’s actions.
“This is an important issue for LSU students,” Dodd said. “Most students have loans. I thought it was important to voice my opinion.”
Smilowitz said he was extremely saddened by Baker’s vote – especially because his vote could have forced a tie.
“If he had voted ‘no,’ he would have been the tying vote,” Smilowitz said. “It shows how much he cares about Louisiana students. It’s disgusting.”
Michael Diresto, Baker’s press secretary, said he reviewed the petition and was not sure what the petition was designed to accomplish.
When asked for a comment about Baker’s reasons for his vote, Diresto declined to comment.
Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]