Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–May 24, 2013.  Yesterday, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) voted against H.R. 1911, a bill that makes student loan interest rates change year-to-year based on the 10-year Treasury note. If H.R. 1911 becomes law, next year’s college freshmen are projected to be paying an interest rate of 7.4% by the time the they start repaying their loans in 2017. That is more than double today’s current 3.4% rate for subsidized Stafford loans and will cost the average student $2,000 more during the life of their loan.

Duckworth, along with  a few of her colleagues, offered an amendment to the bill that would have kept subsidized Stafford loan rates at 3.4% for the next two years. This amendment was similar to the Student Loan Relief Act of 2013, which she helped introduce and would prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1.  However, the majority  refused to bring the amendment up for a vote.

“Student loans allow working families to send their children to college and have an opportunity to achieve the American dream,” said Duckworth. “We should be finding ways to expand access to higher education. H.R. 1911 does exactly the opposite, which is why I voted against this ill-advised legislation. We cannot allow talented young Americans to have their dreams thwarted because we have lost sight of our priorities. We need to bring forth a common sense proposal and act now to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1.”

Source: duckworth.house.gov