Democratic senator offers alternative to Douglas' scholarships

MONTPELIER, Vt. --A top Democratic state senator offered an alternative Wednesday to the governor's much-publicized college scholarship program, suggesting a much more modest loan repayment proposal, which the governor rejected as nothing more than "mouse meat."

Sen. Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille, was equally dismissive of Gov. James Douglas' scholarship plan as "a grandiose program" that could not be supported in the future.

Douglas also accused some Democratic leaders of threatening to cut the appropriation to the Vermont Student Assistance Corp. for its active support of the scholarship program.

"This kind of political bullying has no place in the Vermont Statehouse," Douglas wrote in a letter of complaint to House Speaker Gaye Symington and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Welch.

The heated rhetoric illustrates the political stakes surrounding not just Douglas' Vermont Promise Scholarships proposal, but also health care reform and the upcoming 2006 elections.

Democrats would rather funnel the funding Douglas wants to tap for the scholarships into their health reform proposal or into propping up the Medicaid public health insurance program.

And all sides, although they deny it, are looking toward this fall's elections and preparing for the campaigns on this and other high profile issues.

Douglas wants to spend as much as $175 million over the next 15 years helping college students pay up to half of their college costs through scholarships in return for their commitment to stay in Vermont for at least the first three years of their careers.

The rub, in the eyes of the Democratic leadership in the Legislature, is that he would use a projected 10-year boost in the amount the state collects from the settlement of the national tobacco lawsuits to pay for the scholarships.

Money from the tobacco settlement have been used up to now for programs to help people quit smoking and for health care.

So Bartlett, chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, offered her alternative. She would offer as much as $1 million a year, but she would use the money to help college graduates to pay off half of their student loans over five-year periods. She would tap into the existing higher education trust fund, which gets its money from excess estate tax revenues. The money would go to people working in specific industries identified as needing workers.

"This is targeted to the Vermont work force and helping students of any age," she said.

At the same time, she criticized the governor's proposal as poorly conceived. "I have real concerns about this grandiose program and how real it is," she said. "I think the governor is making a very large promise. He's going on a tour to promote the idea of giving away free money."

For his part, Douglas indicated he would be satisfied only with his plan as proposed. "I've laid out a vision for our state's future," he said. "What I've laid out is a bold, expansive program."

He said Democrats' opposition was a "knee-jerk reaction" and he questioned how Bartlett, whose district includes Johnson State College, could oppose his proposal. "I can't understand why someone who represented a state college would oppose a program that benefits state colleges," Douglas said. "I think (Bartlett's) funding source is a problem. Frankly, it's mouse meat in relative terms compared to the bold program we need for the future of our state."