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Taxpayers getting an education? Obama student loan forgiveness program swells by $22B

The cost of President Obama's student loan forgiveness program has ballooned by nearly $22 billion over initial projections, raising alarm among budget hawks -- even as the government promises taxpayers eventually will come out ahead. 
The figure was included in Obama's recently released budget proposal. 
In budget-speak, the Department of Education summary said: "The 2015 amount includes a net upward reestimate of $21.8 billion, primarily related to revised interest rates and increased participation in income-driven repayment plans." 
In other words, swelling enrollment due to looser loan rules is driving up costs -- a lot. 
Critics point to recent changes in the program. Among them was the PAYE, or Pay As You Earn, program allowing students to cap loan payments at 10 percent of their incomes. It was the result of legislation Congress passed and Obama signed in 2010. The law also allows for loan forgiveness after 20 years of payments, and after 10 years for those in "public service" -- a broad category that includes government and nonprofit workers. 
"They didn't account for the market risk in making these loans," said Romina Boccia, a budget fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. 
In 2013, 124,000 people enrolled in the PAYE plan. A year later, Obama directed the secretary of education to propose regulations to potentially cap loans for another 5 million people. The loan program changes and expansions tacked on the extra $22 billion to the price tag. 
The number pales in comparison to total student debt. All told, Americans have $1.13 trillion in student loans outstanding, according to the most recent data from The Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 
A White House Office of Management and Budget official told FoxNews.com that "revisions are not uncommon." The office countered claims that there is a "shortfall," as some other media outlets have reported. Essentially, the program expanded and the budget office accounted for that expansion over the entire life of the program. 
The official touted benefits to taxpayers, claiming the changes help students avoid default and even strengthen the economy. 
OMB and the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office maintain that the federal government will make money over the life of the loans. That's because, they say, even after accounting for anticipated defaults, the government borrows money at a much cheaper rate than the interest it charges to borrowers of student loans. 
Others aren't so confident taxpayers will come out ahead. 
It's "hard to see how this is going to come out as a net positive as the administration predicts," said Steve Ellis, with Taxpayers for Common Sense. 
The budget watchdog group has welcomed past reforms the government has made regarding student loans, but is watching this situation closely to see whether it is a one-time budget hit, as the OMB contends, or an ongoing problem. 
Ellis wants to make sure the loan forgiveness program meets Americans' priorities. 
"Is it too generous?" Ellis asks. "Is it hitting the right people?" 
Boccia contends the government should view risk the way private lenders would, something known as Fair Value Accounting. 
The government doesn't use Fair Value Accounting, but rather follows the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, or FCRA, when making projections. It has found those numbers more accurate, because unlike a bank, the federal government doesn't need to turn a profit and is better able to diversify. 
Lindsey Burke, an education fellow at the Heritage Foundation, sees a problem. 
"Somebody pays for that loan forgiveness," Burke said. "And that is the three-quarters of Americans who don't have bachelor's degrees themselves." 
The subsidies also may be driving up the cost of education, a concept known as The Bennett Hypothesis (after President Reagan's Education Secretary William Bennett), which Burke believes drives "the vicious lending and spending cycle." It's evident that education costs have risen, but studies on the effects of subsidies are tougher to tease out. 
The Obama administration has promised it is working on slowing the soaring costs, for instance, by showing prospective borrowers what they're getting for their money.

'Tragedy': Hunter accidentally killed famed 'Grand Canyon' gray wolf

Hundred of miles from its Wyoming home, "914F" wandered to the rocky North Rim of the Grand Canyon last fall—the first gray wolf spotted there in 70 years, the Arizona Republic notes—before heading into Utah, likely searching for food or a mate.
But in December, the wolf's journey came to an end after a hunter there mistook her for a coyote and shot her dead, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Using DNA testing, the US Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed the 3-year-old collared animal was the same one seen at the Grand Canyon, the Republic notes.
"It is nothing short of a tragedy that this wolf's journey across the west was cut short," Eva Sargent, a director for Defenders of Wildlife, tells the Chronicle.
"This brave and ambitious female gray wolf … had already become a symbol of what gray wolf recovery should look like: animals naturally dispersing to find suitable habitat." Gray wolves weren't always isolated to certain parts of the country: All of North America used to be their home, Defenders of Wildlife notes, but they were killed off throughout much the US in the 1930s.
What's worrying some animal advocates is that the federal government is considering removing endangered-species status from gray wolves in all regions: When they were delisted from the Northern Rockies, mass killings of the creatures took place in multiple states, including Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
"Sadly, with the US Fish and Wildlife Service preparing to remove all protections for gray wolves, except for Mexican gray wolves, in the near future, it will become harder and harder for wolves to travel safely, and less … likely that we will hear their howls echo through places like the Grand Canyon," Sargent tells the Chronicle.

Dems urge Oregon governor to resign, top official reveals ‘strange’ behavior

Embattled Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber faced stiff pressure from top-ranking fellow Democrats to resign on Thursday, shortly after the state's No. 2 official issued a statement describing the governor's recent behavior as "strange" and contradictory. 
The latest calls to resign -- in the wake of influence-peddling allegations involving his fiancee Cylvia Hayes, a green-energy consultant -- came from the upper echelons of Oregon's government. Senate President Peter Courtney told reporters Thursday afternoon that he and House Speaker Tina Kotek have asked for Kitzhaber to step down. 
"I finally said, `This has got to stop,"' Courtney said after he and Kotek met with the governor. "I don't know what else to do right now. It seems to be escalating. It seems to be getting worse and worse." 
His remarks came after Secretary of State Kate Brown, who would be in line to succeed Kitzhaber should he step down, issued a statement calling this a "bizarre and unprecedented situation." 
Brown had been summoned back to Oregon by the governor on Wednesday while she was attending a conference in Washington. Her abrupt return to Oregon fueled speculation that the governor was planning to resign. 
Sources told The Associated Press that, in fact, he had decided to step down amid the ethics controversy involving his fiancée but changed his mind while Brown was en route back to Oregon. 
In her statement, Brown described how Kitzhaber gave her conflicting messages. 
She said she first heard from the governor late Tuesday afternoon. "He asked me to come back to Oregon as soon as possible to speak with him in person and alone," Brown said. 
But when she arrived for the meeting with the governor on Wednesday, Brown said, "He asked me why I came back early from Washington, D.C., which I found strange." 
According to Brown, he also sent conflicting signals about his future plans when she asked what he wanted to talk about. 
"The Governor told me he was not resigning, after which, he began a discussion about transition," she said, adding that she told the governor she would be ready "should he resign." 
Pressure to do so grew significantly on Thursday. The state treasurer also joined in the call for Kitzhaber to step down. "Unfortunately, the current situation has become untenable, and I cannot imagine any scenario by which things improve," said Treasurer Ted Wheeler, another Democrat. "Oregon deserves a governor who is fully focused on the duties of state." 
Until Thursday's statement, Brown also had avoided weighing in on the controversy surrounding Kitzhaber. Her move further isolates him from other senior Democrats, none of whom have come to his aid. 
It's not clear why Kitzhaber, a four-term governor who handily won re-election in November, decided he would stay put despite the mounting criticism. He issued a vague statement on Wednesday explaining he was not resigning. 
"I was elected to do a job for the people of this great state, and I intend to continue to do so," Kitzhaber said, repeating a refrain he's uttered at least twice in the past two weeks. 
Newspaper editorial boards and Republicans have called on him to leave office over allegations involving his fiancee, who has been under increasing scrutiny since October, when a series of reports chronicled her work for organizations with an interest in Oregon public policy. That work came about when she was serving as an unpaid adviser in the governor's office. 
Amid the attention, Hayes revealed that she accepted about $5,000 to illegally marry an immigrant seeking immigration benefits in the 1990s. Later, she acknowledged purchasing a remote property with the intent to illegally grow marijuana. 
Kitzhaber has denied any wrongdoing, saying he and Hayes took steps to avoid conflicts of interest. Though questions about Hayes have swirled for months, the pressure on Kitzhaber intensified in recent weeks after newspapers raised questions about whether Hayes reported all her income to on her tax returns. 
In early February, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said she was launching a criminal investigation. 
A fiercely private person, Kitzhaber has been forced to answer embarrassing and personal questions about his relationship. In response to questions at a news conference last month, Kitzhaber told reporters that he's in love with Hayes, but he's not blinded by it.

US reportedly increases secret raids against Afghanistan insurgents

U.S. Special Forces soldiers and their Afghan allies have undertaken an increasing number of night raids targeting Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, despite Washington formally declaring an end to combat operations late last year, according to a published report. 
The New York Times reports that the increased raids are partially the result of intelligence seized in October of last year, when U.S. and Afghan commandos came upon a laptop computer with files detailing terror operations in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. Military officials tell the paper that the information in the files could be as significant as what was found on a computer in Usama bin Laden's Pakistan compound after the terror leader was killed by Navy SEALs in 2011. 
The officials also said that another factor playing the role in the increased raids were loosened restrictions on nighttime operations put in place by the new Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani. Ghani has previously called for a slower withdrawal of U.S. troops from his country. Current plans call for the U.S. to go from about 10,800 troops there now to 5,500 by the end of this year.
The U.S. and its NATO allies formally announced the end of their combat mission in Afghanistan in December and trumpeted the withdrawal of most combat troops. However, under the terms of a security agreement with the Afghan government, just over 13,000 troops, most of them American, were to stay on in an advisory role. 
However, American and Afghan officials tell The Times that U.S. troops are taking a lead role in the latest counterterror raids, and not merely going along as advisers. The raids are also unusual in that they are coming during the winter, which is traditionally the season where the fighting is lightest. 
"It’s all in the shadows now," said a former Afghan security official told the paper. "The official war for the Americans — the part of the war that you could go see — that’s over. It’s only the secret war that’s still going. But it’s going hard."
News of the increased raids comes one day after the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he wants greater flexibility in in how quickly he pulls troops out of Afghanistan and where he can position them around the country in the coming months.
Gen. John Campbell said that by keeping more than 5,500 troops in Afghanistan through the end of the year, Campbell would be able to maintain forces in other locations around the country, both training the Afghan forces and providing support for more counterterrorism missions.
"I'm particularly concerned about the summer of 2015," Campbell said. "The Afghans — this is the very first fighting season completely on their own."

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Fox News Poll: Despite economic gains, many Americans just getting by

Sure, things are much better. Just not for me. 
That’s how many American voters view the economy, according to the latest Fox News poll. 
The number saying the country is still in a recession is down more than 20 percentage points since 2010. Yet the number saying their family is “falling behind” financially is the same. And while more people are getting ahead -- the largest portion is still just getting by.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE POLL RESULTS
In 2010, an overwhelming 88 percent felt the country was in a recession. That’s down to 65 percent in the new poll, released Wednesday. That includes 37 percent who also think things are getting better and 28 percent who say things could get worse. 
The one-third (33 percent) who says the recession is over includes 18 percent who feel another could be coming. An optimistic 15 percent believe both the recession is completely over and the economy is recovering. That was three percent in 2010.
Republicans (42 percent) are much more likely than Democrats (13 percent) to think the country is still in a recession and things could get worse. 
When asked about their family’s finances, 31 percent say they are getting ahead. While still a minority, that’s up from 24 percent in 2013 and 27 percent in September 2009 (in the first year of President Obama’s first term).
Today about half -- 49 percent -- say they are “just able to pay most bills,” down from 54 percent in 2009.
Eighteen percent say they’re “falling behind.” It was 17 percent in 2009. 
Voters living in households with annual income over $50,000 are twice as likely as those with lower incomes to say they are getting ahead (42 percent vs. 20 percent).
Meanwhile, more voters are giving President Obama a thumbs-up on the economy: 46 percent approve of the job he’s doing, while 50 percent disapprove. In December, just two months ago, he was underwater by 12 points (43-55 percent). His all-time low rating on the economy came in August 2011 when 34 percent of voters approved and 62 percent disapproved. 
The president’s overall rating stands at 45 percent approval vs. 49 percent disapproval. This is the first time since August disapproval of Obama’s job performance has been below 50 percent. It was 42-52 percent a month ago (January 11-13, 2015). 
Obama’s recently-proposed federal budget includes new spending on infrastructure as well as domestic programs -- plus a pay raise for federal workers. People like that idea -- as long as someone else pays for it.
By a 61-38 percent margin, voters oppose Obama’s proposal if their taxes would go up. However, if taxes only go up on “people who earn more” than they do, voters reverse and support it by 53-44 percent. 
All in all, do people want the government to do more? Not really. Forty-nine percent think the government is providing too many services for too many people. That’s down from 54 percent in 2014. 
About one in four (23 percent) believes the government is doing too little for too few. That’s mostly unchanged from last year (24 percent) and up a touch from 20 percent in 2012.
Another 22 percent of voters feel services are being provided at the right level, up from 19 percent (2014).
The poll also asks voters what the federal government should be doing right now -- cutting or spending. A 56-percent majority thinks the government should be cutting taxes, cutting spending, and reducing regulations, while 40 percent prioritize expanding domestic programs and increasing spending on infrastructure.
Republicans think Uncle Sam should be cutting taxes and reducing regulations by a wide 54-point margin (75-21 percent). Democrats go for expanding programs and increasing spending -- but by a much smaller 18-point margin (58-40 percent).
Pollpourri
A whopping 21 percent of voters approve of the job Congress is doing. The last time approval of Congress was above the teens was June 2011. Seventy-two percent still disapprove. 
The Fox News poll is conducted by telephone with live interviewers under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). The 1,044 registered voters were reached via landline and cell phone numbers randomly selected for inclusion in this nationwide survey from February 8-10, 2015. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Oregon governor reportedly changed his mind about resigning over ethics controversy

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber decided to resign over the weekend amid an ethics scandal involving his fiancée, but later changed his mind for reasons that remain unclear, according to a published report. 
The Associated Press reported late Wednesday that Kitzhaber, a Democrat, informed some of his aides on Sunday that he was going to step down. On Tuesday, Kitzhaber asked Oregon secretary of state Kate Brown to return from a conference in Washington D.C. Since Oregon does not have a lieutenant governor, Brown would taken Kitzhaber's place until a special election could be held. 
However, on Wednesday, Kitzhaber's office issued a two-sentence statement saying he would remain in office. 
"Let me be as clear as I was last week, that I have no intention of resigning as Governor of the state of Oregon," Kitzhaber said. "I was elected to do a job for the people of this great state and I intend to continue to do so."
Kitzhaber, who was re-elected to a second consecutive term as governor in November, has faced calls to resign after a series of newspaper reports revealed that his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, did paid consulting work for organizations with an interest in Oregon public policy. During the same period, she worked as an unpaid adviser in the governor's office on some of the same issues. Kitzhaber has said repeatedly that he and Hayes took care to avoid conflicts, and a state ethics commission will decide whether conflict-of-interest laws were broken.
State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has launched in an investigation into the allegations, which she has previously called "very serious" and "troubling."
Earlier this month, The Oregonian, the state's largest newspaper, called for Kitzhaber to step down in an editorial.
Emails released to the paper last week by the Department of Administrative Services showed Hayes instructed state officials to help implement a policy known as the genuine progress indicator, which she was being paid to promote.
The genuine progress indicator is an alternative to the gross domestic product, which uses health and environmental data to help measure economic success. Hayes was paid by Demos, a New York-based nonprofit, to promote the policy.
The records also show that Kitzhaber himself intervened to urge Jordan to hire a former Maryland official who worked on the genuine progress indicator in that state, the newspaper reported. He was eventually hired on a yearlong contract worth about $65,000.