RESTON. Va. Nov. 18, 2009—Sallie Mae—the nation’s leading saving, planning and paying for education company—today announced the results to date of a multi-state petition campaign. The campaign gives the company’s employees and concerned citizens a way to express their concerns to Congress about legislation that jeopardizes local jobs and eliminates competition and choice from the student loan program.
The total number of petition signatures, 186,092, was revealed at a town hall event at Sallie Mae’s Reston headquarters. Sallie Mae employs 8,500 individuals nationwide. That workforce would be reduced by approximately 2,300 if Congress were to approve a proposal mandating a move to a 100 percent government-run student loan program. The effect on other student loan community jobs would be even more severe.
“We continue to support alternative legislation that generates $87 billion of taxpayer saving that can be delivered tomorrow with no transition risk and with job growth, not the significant job losses inherent in the Administration’s proposal,” said Albert L. Lord, vice chairman & CEO.
Legislation passed by the House of Representatives on a party line vote requires all federal student loans to be originated by the federal government, jeopardizing thousands of private sector jobs across the country and eliminating competition and choice from the federal student loan program. With the legislation now under consideration in the U.S. Senate, the community-led petition campaign asks Congress to support the Community Proposal, an alternative plan supported by Sallie Mae and a broad coalition.
The Community Proposal makes college more affordable while also preserving quality local jobs and valuable services for students. This alternative proposal will eliminate lender subsidies and have federal ownership of all student loans, generating $87 billion in mandatory federal budget savings to increase student aid.
Over its 37-year history, Sallie Mae has served more than 20 million students and families and more than 4,000 colleges and universities across the country.
For more information on the multi-state petition campaign or to learn more about the community’s alternative proposal to make college more affordable, please visit www.ProtectLocalJobs.com.
For more information contact:
Rick Castellano (703) 984-5535
SLM Corporation (NYSE:
SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation’s leading saving, planning and paying for education company. Sallie Mae’s saving programs, planning resources and financing options have helped more than 31 million people make the investment in higher education. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages $176 billion in education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers. In addition, the company’s Upromise program has enabled 11 million members to earn more than $525 million in rewards to help pay for college. Its Upromise affiliates also manage more than $23 billion in 529 college-savings plans. Sallie Mae offers services to a range of institutional clients, including colleges and universities, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at
www.SallieMae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.