Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced Friday that the upper chamber will vote next week to avert a spike in student loan interest rates, which are scheduled to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent in July.
Shortly after President Obama spoke at the White House calling on Congress to act, Reid declared the House GOP proposal a “non-starter” in the Senate.
Reid’s full statement:
“In just over one month, interest rates on student loans are set to double. Next week, the Senate will vote on a common-sense proposal to prevent middle class families from being hit with a rate hike that could cost them thousands.
“The House Republican proposal is a non-starter in the Senate because it would leave middle-class families with the uncertainty of seeing their rates fluctuate wildly year to year, potentially having to pay thousands more from one year to the next. In fact, the House Republican plan would cost students an average of almost $2,000 more in interest than if we did nothing at all – or about $6,500 more in interest than the current rate.
“I hope my Senate Republican colleagues will put politics aside and join us in providing middle-class families with the security of knowing they won’t be forced to pay thousands more for student loans on July first. This is exactly the kind of common-sense proposal we need to keep our economy growing.”
