Specter is considering sponsoring bill to ensure that college students with drug convictions are not barred from receiving financial aid

Pennsylvania NOW received the following request for support from the Students for Sensible Drug Policy for a bill Sen. Specter is considering sponsoring to ensure that college students with drug convictions are not automatically barred from receiving federal financial aid:

Joanne,

As a Pennsylvania-based organization, Pennsylvania NOW could play a huge
role in making sure that college students with drug convictions are no
longer automaticaly strpped of their federal financial aid.

Sen. Arlen Specter is considering sponsoring a bill to reinstate aid to
affected individuals, but he needs encouragement from organizations like
yours to make this a priority for action.

As you may know, nearly 200,000 aspiring students - including more than
6,000 in Pennsylvania alone - have been affected by the penalty since it was
put into force in 2000.

More than 325 organizations around the country - including national NOW -
have already called on Congress to overturn the aid elimination penalty.

Do you think Pennsylvania NOW could write a short letter to Sen. Specter,
urging him to take a leadership role in removing this harmful roadblock to
education and recovery?

Additionally, it would be incredibly helpful if you could ask your members
to visit http://www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com/aid/ where they can easily send
messages to Sen. Specter and other legislators about the penalty.

I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about this issue
and to work with you on putting together a letter to Sen. Specter.

Many thanks for your consideration,
Tom Angell, Government Relations Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy
1623 Connecticut Ave. NW; Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009
phone: (202) 293-4414
cell: (202) 557-4979
fax: (202) 293-8344
e-mail: tom@ssdp.org
web: http://www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com
blog: http://www.DAREgeneration.com
AIM: ThisIsTomAngell

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