Oct. 6, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Joined by various community leaders and state and local elected officials, Sallie Mae—the nation’s leading saving, planning and paying for education company—today announced the results of a community led effort to protect local jobs in Florida and options for students. Over the past month more than 23,000 county and state residents signed the “Protect Florida Jobs” petition, voicing their concern about legislation in Congress that would put local jobs at risk.

The total number of petition signatures was revealed at a town hall event at Sallie Mae’s Panama City facility amidst the company’s 700 Bay County employees, community leaders and local officials who participated in the petition drive. Sallie Mae has been part of the community in Bay County for more than 20 years serving more than 30 million students and families and more than 4,000 college and universities across the country.

“Sallie Mae has been one of the great economic success stories of Bay County for more than two decades, and we want to keep them here to grow and provide employment opportunities,” said Carol Roberts, President and CEO, Bay County Chamber of Commerce. “These jobs are not only important to the 700 Sallie Mae employees and their families, but also to the entire Bay County community.”

Pending legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, however, would require all federal student loans to be originated by the federal government, putting in jeopardy the 700 private sector jobs in Bay County and severely hampering related economic development in the state. Sallie Mae currently contributes more than $40 million annually to the local economy and has contributed millions to local charities including the United Way, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, March of Dimes and many others.

With legislation now set to move to the U.S. Senate, the community-led petition calls on Florida’s Senators to support alternative proposals that would accomplish the President’s goals of making college more affordable while also preserving quality local jobs relied on by families and communities and valuable services for students. Community leaders along with concerned Sallie Mae employees today traveled to Senator Nelson’s district offices in Tallahassee to officially present more than 23,000 signatures in support of an alternative proposal to protect local jobs. Petitions were also mailed to Senator LeMieux’s district office in Orlando.

“I’m proud the community has joined together to help our Senators in Washington understand the importance of these jobs to Bay County,” said Renee Mang, Senior Vice President, Sallie Mae. “Today the community delivered 23,000 more reasons to support an alternative proposal that will protect local jobs at this time when jobs are so scarce here and around the country.”

Consistent with the President’s reform proposal, the Community Proposal, an alternative plan supported by Sallie Mae and a broad list of industry players, would eliminate lender subsidies and have federal ownership of all student loans, generating $87 billion in mandatory federal budget savings to increase student aid and preserve options and services for students.

For more information on the “Protect Florida Jobs” petition campaign or to learn more about the community’s alternative proposal to make college more affordable, please visit www.ProtectFloridaJobs.com.

SLM Corporation (NYSE:SLM), commonly known as Sallie Mae, is the nation’s leading provider of saving, planning and paying for education programs. Through its subsidiaries, the company manages $188 billion in education loans and serves 10 million student and parent customers. Through its Upromise affiliates, the company also manages more than $19 billion in 529 college-savings plans, and is a major, private source of college funding contributions in America with 11 million members and more than $475 million in member rewards. Sallie Mae and its subsidiaries offer debt management services as well as business and technical products to a range of business clients, including higher education institutions, student loan guarantors and state and federal agencies. More information is available at www.salliemae.com. SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.