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Senate Reaches a Deal to Freeze Student Loan Interest Rates
By Catherine Groux
Posted June 27, 2012 12:11 PM
The Senate is currently deciding how to push their proposal through the House.Under the pressure of a fast-approaching week-long holiday, Senate leaders recently announced that they have reached a deal to freeze the current student loan interest rate for at least one more year, The Washington Post reports. Currently, the Senate is working to decide how their new proposal should be pushed through Congress.
"We basically have the student loan issue worked out," Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid said. "The next question is, what do we put it on to make sure we can complete it?"
If approved by the House, the proposal would prevent interest rates from doubling to 6.8% on July 1, saving an estimated 7 million college students an average of $1,000. Currently, while there are only about three days left to stop interest rates from rising, both Senate and House leaders said they are close to an agreement. Meanwhile, the White House has issued a statement urging House Republicans to accept the Senate's proposal.
As both Republicans and Democrats - including presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama - have announced their support of the freezing of student loan interest rates, the Senate agreement came as no surprise to many political figures. The disagreement between the two parties emerged from how the government would cover the $6 billion cost of keeping interest rates the same.
