Democratic congressional challenger Tessa Hafen on Tuesday blasted her opponent's record on student loans, saying he voted for the largest cut in such programs in history and has made education less affordable.
"I put myself through school, sometimes working two jobs," Hafen said at a news conference highlighting the issue at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "It was difficult, but it was worth it. ... For many students and their families, college would be impossible without low-interest student loans and federal financial aid programs."
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Hafen accused Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., of voting against such programs, pointing to a vote in February for a bill that she said cut $12.7 billion from loan programs and increased interest rates as of July. She also pointed to $12,500 in contributions to Porter from lenders, saying those companies were his real constituents.
"Jon Porter's priorities are big business, special interests and the Republican Party, not Nevadans," she said.
Porter said Hafen was grossly distorting his record and that he fully supported helping students pay for college.
Quite the opposite from padding businesses' profits, he said the "cut" in question was a move toward "eliminating corporate welfare" by reducing the fees on loans and subsidies to banks. He noted that the bill in question was bipartisan legislation supported by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and that while it did slightly drive up interest rates, it fixed them in a place below where they might have risen if left to fluctuate.
"As a parent who's had two kids in college, I really do understand the cost," Porter said.
Porter also said Hafen was quoting his record selectively. He pointed out that he successfully passed an amendment that provides loan forgiveness to nurses, librarians, teachers in low-income areas and others who go into needed areas. Porter also has introduced a bill that would allow tax deductions of employer contributions toward tuition.
"She needs to do her homework a little bit better," he said. "She's just following the script provided to her by Washington, D.C., Democrats. If you look beyond that, you'll see that I want to help folks get to college as much as anyone."
Porter has begun airing television ads attacking Hafen over the fact that she recently moved back to Henderson, her hometown, after 12 years out of state, eight of them spent working as a staffer for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
The ad compares her to Porter's opponent in 2004, Tom Gallagher, a former casino executive. "Two years ago, out-of-state liberals rented a home in Nevada and tried to buy a seat in Congress," it states, with Gallagher's picture in the background. "Well, they're at it again."
Hafen, it says, "bought a house in Nevada a few months ago just to run for Congress."
Hafen said the ad's claim was ridiculous given that she grew up in Southern Nevada, where her family goes back three generations, and was working for Nevada's interests in Reid's office.
"I am a Nevadan. I've always been a Nevadan. I spent the last eight years working for Nevada," she said. "It's the same campaign playbook Jon Porter does every time -- nasty character attacks instead of focusing on the issues."
