Jason Delisle: All Publications, Events and Press

Student Loan Law Could Change | Bismarck Tribune

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:56:00 -0400

The public-private arrangement made sense 40 years ago when the government needed local banks to handle lending across the country, said Jason Delisle of the New America Foundation, a nonprofit policy institute. Changes in technology and regulations have since it possible for the government to lend directly. ... Original Article

Back to School for Student Loans | National Journal

Erin Drankoski — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:54:00 -0400

Firing back at the Republicans, Jason Delisle wrote in Higher Ed Watch, a blog at the New America Foundation, that the revised CBO estimate at the very least confirms that direct lending is significantly cheaper than the FFEL program, even if by a smaller margin than first thought. Delisle, who supports Miller’s bill, was formerly a Republican staffer on the Senate Budget Committee. ... Original Article

Obama's Real Reform | Rolling Stone

Erin Drankoski — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:32:00 -0400

"The student-loan industry is as close as you can get to letting industry set their own subsidy rates," says Jason Delisle, a veteran Republican budget staffer who now directs the Federal Education Budget Project for the nonpartisan New America Foundation. "Congress was writing these subsides into law, and the lobbyists encourage them to make it as high as possible." ... Original Article

Today Student Loans, Tomorrow Health Care | National Review Online

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:13:00 -0400

... and pocket the difference all day,” says Jason Delisle, director of the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation. ...

Lenders' Last-Ditch Gambit | Inside Higher Ed

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 01:05:00 -0400

Analysts at the New America Foundation, which takes a generally skeptical view of the student loan industry and has editorialized in favor of the Obama plan, questioned some of the principles underlying the lenders' alternative proposal.

Student Loan Purchase Programs Under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008

Education Policy — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:19:00 -0400

Doing the Student Loan Shuffle | Bankrate.com

Cecille Isidro — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:47:00 -0400

ECASLA has kept Stafford and PLUS loans flowing to students despite the trouble in the financial industry, says Jason Delisle, research director for the education policy program at the New America Foundation, a public policy think-tank in Washington, D.C.

The Future of Federal Student Loans

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
03/31/2009 - 9:30am

On Tuesday, March 31, the New America Foundation's Education Policy Program hosted "The Future of Federal Student Loans." This event featured representatives from the Obama administration, the student loan community, and New America's Education Policy Program to discuss the pros and cons of the President's proposal to stop guaranteeing federal student loans and to instead make the loans directly.

FEBP Releases "A Primer on the Budget Resolution's Impact on Education Funding"

Communications — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:40:00 -0400

WASHINGTON, DC - Today the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project released an updated version of the issue brief "A Primer on the Budget Resolution's Impact on Education Funding," by the project's Research Director Jason Delisle.

A Primer on the 2009 Budget Resolution’s Impact on Education Funding

Education Policy — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 11:07:00 -0400

The budget resolution put forward by Congress each year sets out a budget plan for the next five to ten years. The budget resolution and the ensuing budget process itself can have significant effects on education funding. The arcane procedures Congress uses to produce and act upon the budget resolution, however, are often confusing to the media and education advocates alike. This confusion is made worse by political rhetoric and partisan spin.

2009 Education Appropriations Guide

Communications — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:27:00 -0400

2009 Education Appropriations Guide

Education Policy — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:42:00 -0400

Congress completed the fiscal year 2009 appropriations process on March 10th, 2009, finalizing annual funding for nearly all federal education programs through September 2009 at $62.6 billion, up $3.4 billion from the prior year. Making sense of the federal education budget and the appropriations process can be a frustrating task for education advocates, state and local policymakers, the media, and the public. The now concluded fiscal year 2009 appropriations process is no exception due to numerous stopgap funding measures and emergency economic stimulus legislation.

Even a Critic is Expecting MOHELA to Survive | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:20:00 -0500

Jason DeLisle, research director for education policy at the New America Foundation, thinks Bayer's optimism may be warranted. DeWild favors elimination of the private-sector loan subsidies, but he knows that his side runs into a political buzzsaw when ...

Subsidy-Rate Proposal in Bill Could Aid Lenders | The Chronicle of Higher Education

Cecille Isidro — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:41:00 -0500

Federal student loans issued since 2000 would be eligible for subsidies based on the new calculation. The New America Foundation, which drew attention to the proposed change on its Higher Ed Watch blog, estimated that the change would increase the subsidy rate by 0.5 percentage points...

Student Loan Purchase Programs Under the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008

Education Policy — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:05:00 -0500

An updated version of this paper can be found here.

In May of 2008, Congress passed the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act (ECASLA) in response to concern that credit market conditions could disrupt federal student loan availability. The law gives the U.S. Department of Education temporary authority to purchase federally backed student loans made by private lenders, effectively providing a secondary market for the loans. Congress opted to leave the new purchase authority largely undefined in statute, giving the Department considerable discretion to design and administer it. To date, the Department has created four separate loan purchase arrangements under ECASLA: a put option; a short-term purchase program; a financing arrangement; and an asset-backed commercial paper support program. This issue brief provides a detailed description of these arrangements and will be updated as new information becomes available.

New America Foundation Releases Student Loan Purchase Program Brief

Communications — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:46:00 -0500

Today the New America Foundation's Education Policy Program released "Cost Estimates for Federal Student Loans: The Market Cost Debate," by the program's Research Director Jason Delisle. This paper exposes misleading and erroneous information published by student loan industry trade associations and government agencies regarding the cost of federal student loan programs. The report comes at a time when disruptions in the credit markets and a presidential race could set the stage for changes in student loan policy.

Many budget experts and stakeholder groups have argued that official cost estimates for federal student loans reported by budget agencies are inaccurate because they do not reflect "market costs" -- what a private entity would charge taxpayers to fund and administer the same benefits and services that the government provides. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), private consulting organizations, and student loan trade associations have all weighed in. Unfortunately, their conclusions are confusing and often incorrect. "Cost Estimates for Federal Student Loans: The Market Cost Debate" aims to help policymakers, the media and the public better understand this complicated issue.

"Trade associations and consulting organizations working on behalf of the student loan industry have twisted a legitimate budgeting concept into a half-truth," Delisle said. "They have tried to use the market cost concept to discredit government estimates that show subsidizing lenders to make student loans is more expensive than the government making the loans directly. But their reasoning and methodology include serious errors, and many of their conclusions are wrong. Making matters worse, the GAO has made similar errors in its own work on the topic."

The Market Cost paper includes:

A discussion and explanation of the market cost concept for federal student loan programs.
A detailed analysis and critique of the market cost reports published by government agencies, private consulting companies, and trade associations representing student loan companies.
An identification and explanation of the major errors and misleading information in the work published on the market cost concept for federal student loans.
A discussion of student loan cost estimates by Northwestern University's Deborah Lucas and the Congressional Budget Office's Damien Moore that corrects many of the errors made in other market cost work.

The full report is available at http://www.newamerica.net/publications/policy/cost_estimates_federal_student_loans. To arrange an interview with Jason Delisle, please contact Erin Drankoski at 202-997-8727 or e-mail drankoski@newamerica.net.

Additional Information:
Jason Delisle's bio: LINK
New America's Education Policy Program homepage: LINK

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The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. Headquartered in Washington D.C., New America also has offices in California.

Cost Estimates for Federal Student Loans

Education Policy — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:36:00 -0400

In an ongoing debate about the relative costs of the federal government’s direct and guaranteed student loan programs, some budget experts and private lenders have argued for the use of “market cost” estimates. They assert that official government cost estimates for federal student loans differ from what private entities would likely charge taxpayers to deliver the benefits and services the program provides. A market cost estimate would take such information into account.

Jason Delisle in The Chronicle of Higher Education | 'Higher-Education Funds in Limbo as Congress Prepares to Head Home'

Communications — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:22:00 -0400

That policy change has made it less appealing for Congress to postpone paying for the Pell Grant program, says Jason Delisle, a former senior analyst on the Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee who now works for the New America Foundation, a public-policy institute. LINK (subscription required)

Jason Delisle in San Antonio Express | 'College aid law offers partial relief for students'

Communications — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:58:00 -0400

...In addition to financial aid, the law will also dole out matching grants aimed at boosting the number of first-generation and low-income college students, and will give $510 million to Hispanic, black and other minority-serving institutions.

Overall, the measures will relieve some pressure on students and families — but not too much, said Jason Delisle, an education researcher at the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Lawmakers would have liked to do more, but they had a limited pot of money available after cutting the lender subsidies.

“Basically, they did that because they couldn't afford to do it any other way,” Delisle said... LINK