Last year, the House passed the the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which is a bill removing the senseless subsidies and risk-protection that the federal government gives to private student loan companies. But like so many other legislative efforts, this one has bogged down in the Senate. The lenders, led by Sallie Mae, have launched a furious lobbying campaign to protect their federal dollars, spending millions to influence lawmakers and public opinion.

One of the loan industry’s staunchest defenders has been Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who has said that “it makes no sense” for the government to stop giving what is essentially free money to the lenders. And yesterday, the Washington Post published an op-ed by Alexander chock full of nonsense about SAFRA and its implications:

While health-care reform occupies the spotlight, the Obama administration is pushing for another Washington takeover — this time of the student loan system…Starting in July, all 19 million students who want government-backed loans will line up at offices designated by the U.S. Education Department. Gone will be the days when students and their colleges picked the lender that best fit their needs; instead, a federal bureaucrat will make that choice for every student in America based on still-unclear guidelines…The government should disclose that getting your student loan will become about as enjoyable as going to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Alexander also claims that the plan means students will “work longer to pay off your student loan to help pay for someone else’s education.”

The op-ed has plenty of scaremongering about Washington takeovers and long lines for student loans, but it doesn’t acknowledge the simple fact that the government already makes millions of loans every year, in a process that does not look anything like waiting in line at the DMV. In fact, under SAFRA, student loan companies will still service and administer the loans, they just won’t take federal money and originate them. That money, instead of going to the compensation, advertising, and overhead of private companies, will be reinvested in Pell Grants and other education initiatives.

Second, as The Quick and the Ed’s Kevin Carey pointed out, Alexander’s point about working longer to pay for someone else’s education amounts to “making things up”:

Alexander’s contention that “you’ll work longer to pay off your student loan to help pay for someone else’s education” ignores the fact that many borrowers also receive Pell grants. Or attend the colleges that will receive grants to improve graduation rates, or have small children who will benefit from new investments in early childhood education. Alexander concedes that most people think such programs are a good idea.

Finally, Alexander claims that SAFRA should be scrapped because, if you use a different accounting method than that the Congressional Budget Office employed to find savings of more than $80 billion, SAFRA would save only $47 billion. As if preventing $47 billion in direct subsidies for private companies to do what the government can do just as well isn’t worth his time. Congress is reportedly examining passing SAFRA through the budget reconciliation process along with health care reform.

Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration and devoting $70 billion to airport infrastructure through 2012. The bill also changed an inequity in labor law which has allowed FedEx to operate under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), while other shipping companies like UPS are governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The RLA poses larger barriers to organizing than the NLRA, which has enabled FedEx to prevent its drivers from collectively bargaining. So the company has invested a lot of time and effort into blocking the change, including characterizing it as a “bailout” for UPS.

And FedEx has an ally in Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who is preventing the FAA reauthorization from moving in the Senate, until he receives assurance that the change in labor law won’t occur:

Corker’s action extends a years-long fight in Washington between the mostly non-union FedEx and its unionized rival United Parcel Service Inc. over how workers at both companies should be treated under U.S. labor laws. “We are supportive of the Senate FAA bill, but we have placed a hold until we can be assured that the controversial FedEx provision will not be included in the final legislation,” Laura Lefler Herzog, a spokeswoman for Corker, a Republican, said today in an e-mailed statement.

The Senate’s version of the FAA bill doesn’t actually include the change, but Corker wants to ensure that it isn’t added when the Senate bill is reconciled with the House version. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) has also expressed his disapproval of the legislation. Both of these senators are invested in this issue because FedEx has its headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee.

While Corker, Alexander, and FedEx itself characterize the change as “singling out” FedEx, all it would do is level the playing field between FedEx and other shipping companies when it comes to unionizing. FedEx CEO Fed Smith — “who raised more than $100,000 for 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and was George W. Bush’s fraternity brother” — has said that “I don’t intend to recognize any unions at Federal Express,” and the company successfully lobbied Congress in 1996 to keep its RLA status.

Not only does FedEx prevent unionization by keeping its status as an RLA-covered company, but it also systematically misclassifies its drivers as contractors (instead of full employees) so that they can’t organize. As American Rights at Work has pointed out, “by classifying nearly 15,000 drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, FedEx Ground lowers its labor costs by avoiding payroll taxes and benefits.” Its drivers are responsible for fuel and maintenance of the trucks, and are not provided with paid vacation or sick leave.

UPS spokesman Malcolm Berkley said that the change should be made because “we believe all drivers in the country, who are doing the same job, should be treated by the same law. To us, it is literally that simple.” But Corker’s obstinance is preventing that from happening.