Congress will take up student loan rate fix

Loan rates doubled to 6.8 percent last week due to congressional inaction

Published July 8, 2013 1:22PM (EDT)

The Senate will attempt to counteract the hike in student loan rates that went into effect on July 1st, after the two parties were unable to reach a compromise to stop the rates from doubling from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

Politico reports:

One reason why Congress was able to leave the issue of skyrocketing rates for July is that it affects only new loans in the subsidized program, which make up about a quarter of the federal student loan program according to the Congressional Budget Office. Most students won’t sign off on those new loans for a few weeks, when the fall semester starts in colleges, which gives lawmakers some breathing room.

For now, a vote on extending the lower rate for one-year is scheduled for Wednesday.


By Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.

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