House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) reaffirmed his commitment to finding a permanent fix to prevent new subsidized Stafford Loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st.
In May, the House passed the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, legislation that mirrors President Obama’s call for a long-term, market-based solution to the student loan interest rate problem. It is now up to the president to urge Senate Democrats to follow suit, yet he has failed to do so. During an interview with C-SPAN Newsmakers, Chairman Kline said:
What we need here is a little presidential leadership… My position is: The House put forward a plan; it’s a good one. The president put forward one that also tied [rates] to the market using the 10-year Treasury and makes it a long-term solution. The ingredients are there to be able to come together and iron out what differences there may be.
With rates set to double in just two weeks, inaction by the Democrat-led Senate is preventing progress on the kind of solution students and families deserve.
Chairman Kline continued, "We are perfectly willing to speak with the Senate if they pass some legislation to see if we can’t work out some sort of compromise… Let’s see some legislation that can pass the Senate and then we have the pieces necessary to come together and work out a compromise."
Watch the interview below:
Last month the House of Representatives passed the Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911) with bipartisan support. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act:
* Prevents student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st.
* Allows students to take advantage of low interest rates whenever available.
* Protects students against high interest rates by imposing a reasonable cap.
* Ensures borrowers have the option to consolidate their loans and lock in a low fixed rate.
* Maintains existing federal loan repayment programs and debt management initiatives, including the generous Income-Based Repayment Plan.
* Serves both taxpayers and students by producing roughly the same savings over 10 years as the president’s proposal.
To learn more, visit www.republicans-edlabor.house.gov/SmarterSolutions.
