Strong turnout by young voters during November's midterm elections played a role in changing the face of Congress, giving the youth voting bloc new political power.

Now, it's payback time.

On Nov. 7, about 10 million voters ages 18 to 29 cast ballots — an increase from the 8 million who voted in the 2002 midterm elections — according to an analysis of exit poll data by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. Young voters increased their turnout rate to 24 percent in the election, from 20 percent in 2002.

The election dramatically altered the balance of power in Washington as Republicans lost the House for the first time in 12 years and also ceded control of the Senate to Democrats. And according to exit polls, 18- to 29-year-old voters heavily favored Democratic candidates for Congress — by a 59 percent to 36 percent margin.

Fast-forward a couple of months: Congress is back on the job now, and young voters are looking for action on issues that drove them to the polls.

Here are some of the top issues they want to see tackled.

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COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

Making college more affordable is the top priority for young voters, said David Smith, executive director of Mobilize.org, a group dedicated to engaging the country's youth politically.

The "Stop the Raid on Campus Aid" campaign last fall focused on a deficit-cutting measure passed by the GOP-led Congress that slashed almost $13 billion in student loan aid. The campaign helped register college students to vote in the midterm elections, Smith said.

"After young people showed up in record numbers, we want to make sure that Congress hears us loud and clear," Smith said. "And this is an issue that we put at the top."

The message apparently is being heard.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic leadership included college affordability among the seven policy proposals they have pledged to act on in the first 100 legislative hours of the new Congress. The Democrats have pledged to halve the 6.8 percent interest rate on federally subsidized student loans.

Student advocates are keeping up the campaign and have pegged Thursday as a national day of action to lobby Congress to make college more affordable.

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HEALTH CARE

Health care isn't typically a policy issue associated with the younger set, but that's a mistake, said Skyler Weinand, 26, chairman of Minnesota Young Republicans.

"All of our parents are baby boomers and they are 55 to 65 right now," Weinand said. "We're seeing them go to the doctor a lot more and they're approaching retirement age."

Parents without pensions might not be able to afford health care and the solvency of Social Security is debatable, he said.

"Me, personally, I'm kind of scared," Weinand said. "We might have to end up supporting our parents in 15 to 20 years from now."

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IRAQ

Luke Repici, president of the Philadelphia-based Association of Young Americans, said the war in Iraq remains a key issue for young voters. His group created a summary of the recent Iraq Study Group report for members of Gen Y.

"It's a 100-page report. How many young people have a chance to read it? In our summary, within 15 minutes or half an hour, they can get a sense of it themselves," Repici said.

Young voters want change but don't have a good idea of what should be done in Iraq, so they're looking to Congress for leadership, said Ben Unger, 30, campus field director for the Student Public Interest Research Groups.

A November poll conducted for Young Voter Strategies found that 43 percent of young voters listed the war in Iraq as the most important issue in their decision on which candidate to support.

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ENVIRONMENT

The balmy winter in the Midwest and Northeast, high gas prices and the Al Gore global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" has turned the environment into a key policy issue for young voters, Unger said.

"Global warming is the most important environmental issue on people's screens," Unger said.

It'll be harder for young voters to flex their political muscles with Congress in this arena, but they can take action themselves, Unger said. For example, a coalition of more than 30 youth organizations has created the Campus Climate Challenge to reduce pollution generated at high school and college campuses.

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JOBS AND THE ECONOMY

The poll for Young Voter Strategies also asked voters ages 18 to 30 what issues are most important for Congress to deal with. Ranking second, behind college affordability: jobs and the economy.

Smith, of Mobilize.org, said personal debt is an issue with young people who are paying off college loans while coping with a high cost of living.

This is another issue that's made it onto the Democrats' agenda: The party leadership included raising the minimum wage as part of the plan for the first 100 hours. They pledged to not pass a pay raise for Congress until there is an increase in the federal minimum wage, which stands at $5.15 an hour.

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Paul Chavez is an asap reporter based in Los Angeles.

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