New Survey Shows Majority of Americans want Congress to Keep Student Loan Interest Rates at 3.4 Percent or Lower
WASHINGTON – 83 percent of Americans want Congress to keep interest rates on student loans at 3.4 percent or lower according to the results of a new poll released today.
“The survey responses confirm what House Democrats have known for some time: Congress needs to keep interest rates low and a not add more debt onto students and families,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “With just days to act before interest rates double for millions of borrowers, it is my hope that House Republicans will reverse their vote to increase student debt and support legislation that doesn’t harm students, families, and our economy. Time is running out.”
Unless Congress acts by July 1, interest rates on subsidized education loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent for millions of the neediest students. This year, and every year that Congress doesn’t act will cost a student borrower $1,000.
With less than seven legislative days remaining in June, House Democrats filed a discharge petition that would require a straightforward, up-or-down vote on a bill (H.R. 1595) authored by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) to extend current low interest rates on subsidized Stafford student loans for two years. Rep. Courtney’s bill would allow Congress time to consider long-term, comprehensive solutions, to address both rising college costs and affordability, during the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. So far, 187 members of the House have signed onto that effort but no one from the Republican majority has signed the petition.
Failure to act now will add $4.3 billion to students’ debt burden for next year’s loans alone. In addition, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), the GOP bill pushed through the House last month would leave students even worse off than if these interest rates were allowed to double on July 1.
The survey released today was conducted by Public Policy Polling on behalf of MoveOn.org and surveyed 700 voters from June 11 – 12, 2013. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.7 percent.
For complete results of the MoveOn.org survey, click here.
For more information on the impending interest rate hike, click here.
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