Blogs like ASZ spend a lot of time carping on the failings of our government, and precious little in spreading huzzahs when good legislation comes forward.

One of the axioms of being a good manager is to catch employees doing something positive, and pat them on the back immediately for positive reinforcement. Let’s consider for a moment that our community at ASZ is a manager (or at least a proponent) of good government, and that congress is our employee. A bill was recently approved in a House committee that is an example of good legislation, and we should support moving this type of legislation forward as loudly as we denounce stupid lawmaking in Washington:

A House panel on Wednesday approved major college aid legislation that would provide student loan forgiveness after 10 years for people who pursue careers in public service.

The bill (H.R. 2669), sponsored by Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., includes language that would make it easier for college graduates who have high student loan debt to enter lower-paying government and nonprofit jobs. Many groups have cited high debt as a major impediment to the government’s ability to attract top talent.

The public service language is identical to that in a bill introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., earlier this week. “We are seeing a trend where the best and brightest choose to enter the workforce in a place where they can be assured debt relief assistance or a salary that allows them to replay loans quickly,” Sarbanes said. “Today, public service is not that place.”

The measures would provide loan forgiveness of $5,000 for graduates who go into public service professions. After 10 years, government loans would be forgiven…

Now, granted, for many college grads, $5,000 is a but a drop in a sea of their overall student loan debt. Yet there are other provisions in the bill that also recommend its passage:

…The legislation, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, would boost college financial aid by nearly $20 billion over the next five years. The legislation pays for itself by reducing excessive federal subsidies paid to lenders in the college loan industry.

…the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship would increase by $500 over the next five years.

…The legislation would also cut interest rates in half on need-based student loans, reducing the cost of those loans for millions of student borrowers.

…Tuition assistance for excellent undergraduate students who agree to teach in the nation’s public schools.

…Increased federal loan limits so that students won’t have to rely as heavily on costlier private loans.

It should be noted that the bill was approved, 30 - 16. It’s hard to believe that there were actually 16 representatives on the Education and Labor Committee voting against this bill - but then, the GOP has long been in the Grover Norquist camp of drowning government-backed educational loan programs in the bathtub. Indeed, the 16 representatives voting against this bill were all Republicans. Every one of them should be held to account in 2008 for lack of support of this legislation. By contrast, every Democratic Party member of the Education and Labor Committee voted in favor the bill.

This is the kind of legislation that the Democratic Party can point to, and say (with a straight face): “We’re working hard to help the average American.” Even parents in red state America send their children to university, and can appreciate that the Dems are trying to roll back years of educational program cuts from the GOP. This is good stuff to counter the “do-nothing congress” rhetoric that the GOP is starting to sling about the Democratic-controlled congress.