CASH FOR A CHANGE

Congress is correct to allow rehabilitated drug users to become
eligible for student aid - education is a way for all people to
better themselves.

The war on drugs, running strong in its fourth decade, is going to be
fought a little smarter thanks to the U.S. Congress.

As part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, a provision of the
Higher Education Act was amended so that financial aid would no
longer be denied to out-of-school drug offenders - it was a
progressive change that was long overdue.

This partial reform will help people who have paid their debt to
society for past offenses stay on the path of being better, more
productive citizens.

The act was a major blow to students as it cut billions from federal
financial aid.

But if there can be a silver lining seen in such things, it is that
Congress opened aid to one of the groups that needs it most - people
with troubled pasts who are trying to make a comeback.

Whether it's part of the war on drugs or - for those who still desire
to fight it - the war on poverty, education is the key to breaking
the cycle that perpetuates the poxes of pauperism and addiction in our society.

Those who have had their pasts wrecked by the turbulence of drug
abuse only to pull together and to get accepted to a college or
university deserve aid.

If there is any role for the federal government in addressing social
ills, it is enabling people to better themselves.

This should be true for all Americans, even if they did or sold drugs.

The change is only a partial one - it applies to those who were
convicted while not in school receiving aid.

If you are in school and receiving federal aid and then get busted
for a drug offense, you're losing your aid from the feds for a year,
possibly longer.

That's a fair punishment for those who would abuse the precious
opportunity to get a higher degree of learning and a fair compromise
with a right-leaning, selectively tight-wad Congress.

Education, because this board hasn't written it enough, is the
end-all, be-all cure.

It can change the worst drug addict into a top-notch scholar if we're
willing to make the investment - it's good to see Congress chipping
into the piggy bank.