Washington
President Obama took a break from negotiations over the nation's debt ceiling on Tuesday to speak with student leaders concerned that young people will bear the brunt of the federal-budget cuts being considered, The Huffington Post reports.
The conference call, which was not announced in advance and was closed to the news media, came a week after 120 student-body presidents sent a letter to the president and Congressional leaders urging them to "find the common ground necessary to put our fiscal house in order."
"While you may disagree over which party shoulders more blame for our current situation, one thing is certain—young people will shoulder the consequences of gridlock during a time that requires bold action," the letter reads. "Your decisions will determine what kind of country we will inherit. So please hear us clearly: It is time to put the politics aside. It is time to put the parties aside."
The Huffington Post did not provide details of the students' conversation with the president, which was reportedly brief. Mr. Obama has resisted Republican efforts to eliminate the in-school interest subsidy on federal student loans for undergraduates as part of a debt deal, though he supports ending the subsidy for graduate students as a way to cover the shortfall in the Pell Grant program.
So far, that approach is prevailing in debt negotiations. Members of Congress are preparing to vote on a pair of bills—offered by the House speaker, John A. Boehner, and the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid—that would end the in-school interest subsidy on federal loans made to graduate students and provide $17-billion to $18-billion in additional money for the Pell program. It's unclear, however, whether either measure has enough votes to pass in both chambers. Lawmakers have only a few more days to reach a deal to raise the nation's borrowing limit; if they don't have one by August 2, the country could default on its debt.
