Democrats Will Vote To................

• Raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.
• Curb lobbyists' influence by banning meals and gifts to lawmakers and requiring more disclosure and oversight.
• Repeal subsidies for the oil industry.
• Cut college-loan interest rates in half.
• Reduce prescription-drug prices for seniors by requiring Medicare to negotiate rates with pharmaceutical companies.
• Pass another bill that allows expanded federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, betting on better prospects for an override if the president vetoes it again.
• Implement unfulfilled recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission and beef up port security.

Read more in the Sun Herald.

Interest Relief for Student Loans

Alarmed by a rapid rise in student debt, Democratic leaders in the coming Congress are promising to lower payments on new college loans by cutting the interest rate in half. During the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress, Democrats plan on reducing the interest rate from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent. They contend that would help the typical undergraduate student borrower - who graduates with $17,500 in debt - pocket $5,600. Across the nation, debt loads are rising for students, the highest being in New Hampshire, where the class of 2005 graduated with an average debt of $22,793, according to The Project on Student Debt. (Your state's average debt can be found at http://projectonstudentdebt.org/)

Good news for parents and students everywhere.