House approves Republican student loan bill
Source: Washington Post
The House approved a Republican proposal Thursday to allow interest rates on federal student loans to rise or fall from year to year with the governments cost of borrowing, ending a system in which rates are fixed by law.
The proposal cleared the GOP-led House on a largely party-line vote of 221 to 198, but it faces opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate and a veto threat from the Obama administration.
The legislation responds to a looming deadline: On July 1, unless the law is changed, rates for a certain type of new loan for undergraduate students in financial need will double to 6.8 percent, from 3.4 percent.
Last year, facing a similar rate-doubling deadline during his reelection campaign, President Obama pushed Congress to freeze the 3.4 percent rate for one year. Mitt Romney, his Republican opponent, agreed. Now there is increasing talk of changing the loan system to avoid politicizing rates.
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/gop-student-loan-bill-moving-to-house-vote/2013/05/23/1dab9042-c2e5-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html
Expect a 5% Congressional approval rating by September.
Flashmann
(2,140 posts)Seems high by about 4%...
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)City Lights
(25,171 posts)Pragdem
(233 posts)taught_me_patience
(5,477 posts)The rate should be adjustable based on treasury yields. Paying a fixed 6.8% is insane when interest rates are so low. This will DRAMATICALLY reduce interest rates on student loans.
lovuian
(19,362 posts)will not forget the damage done to them
These are EDUCATED VOTERS