With July 1 Doubling of Interest Rates, GOP Once Again Blocks Efforts by Democrats to Keep Federal Loan Interest Rates Affordable
WASHINGTON – While Congress’ immediate job today is to undo higher borrowing costs for more than 7.2 million college students, House Republicans are content to leave students saddled with the extra debt.
“Today we offered our Republican colleagues a chance to immediately move forward on a bill that would keep rates low for one more year. Not a single one chose to take action,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democratic member on the committee. “House Republicans may be content to turn their backs on millions of students, but that's the wrong thing to do.”
Today’s hearing comes one week after Congress allowed interest rates on need-based student loans to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent due to Republican obstructionism. Due to Congress’ failure to act in a responsible way, this rate increase will cost students an additional $1,000 per loan.
While a higher education continues to be the best path to the middle class, rising costs are making it more difficult for students and families to pay for a college degree. In May, Republicans passed a proposal that makes college more expensive for students and families. The GOP bill (H.R. 1911) adds more debt onto students – even more than the doubling of the interest rates – and forces students into loans with great unpredictability and skyrocketing costs. Even though the Senate refuses to take up the measure and the White House has promised to veto the bill, Republicans refuse to negotiate.
Under a rarely used process triggered on June 28 by four committee Democrats – Reps. Miller, Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), and John Tierney (D-Mass.) – Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) had until the close of business on July 1st, the very day that student loan interest rates doubled, to announce a markup of the Keeping Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013. Chairman Kline’s failure to schedule the bill for action means that committee Democrats can force a markup with the consent of just three committee Republicans, regardless of the chairman’s desires to block the legislation. The cost of H.R. 2574 is fully offset by closing a tax loophole.
In addition to immediately reversing the doubling of student loans for more than 7.2 million college students, Congress must also focus its attention to making a higher education more affordable and accessible through the re-authorization of the Higher Education Act. Witnesses testified that through innovative uses of technology many colleges and universities are discovering exciting new ways to enhance teaching and learning in ways that increases educational quality while lower costs for students.
“Recent advances in technology—impacting both online learning and classroom instruction—have demonstrated that active and interactive learning improves the ability of students to learn and understand material in ways that will make integration of information much more effective” said Dr. Joann Boughman, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Maryland system.
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