The news, first reported on twitter by the Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times, was confirmed to TPM by a pair of Senate staffers, one Democrat and one Republican.
According to one staffer, the CBO said the bill would cost $22 billion — steeper than the senators had hoped for, and a likely dealbreaker. But the staffer said they planned to tweak some figures and ask for a new CBO score, and that duscissions remained alive.
The members involved in the talks are Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Tom Carper (D-DE), Angus King (I-VT), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Burr (R-NC) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN).
“Negotiations will continue tomorrow,” said a staffer for a different senator.
The bill ties the interest rate for new, subsidized student loans to the 10-year Treasury note, with some adjustments to protect students from rate spikes.
