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Congress passes bill renewing low-interest rates for student loans
By Anthony Tosie, atosie@starlocalnews.com
Good news, collegiate students: on June 29, Congress passed a bill that will renew low-interest rates for student loans. The bill, which is now headed to President Obama for final approval, will keep interest rates on some federal student loans from doubling for millions of current students.
The bill, which also funds a highway transportation initiative designed to create or save millions of construction jobs, passed after months of haggling between Democrats and Republicans. There was previously concern the bill wouldn’t be passed by a July 1 deadline, which would have doubled interest rates on federal student loans.
The bill easily passed in both the House and Senate, where it received votes of 373-52 and 74-19, respectively. The bill will now be sent to President Obama for his final approval via signature; Obama has previously indicated his support for the bill.
As a result of the bill, the interest rates on certain federal student loans will now double on July 1, 2013, unless another bill is passed. According to a White House press release, if the bill hadn’t passed, 7.4 million students would have seen “the equivalent of a $1,000 tax.”
President Obama has been critical over the lack of compromise between the Republicans and Democrats in Congress in recent weeks. On June 23, Obama chastised Congress for not working together on the bill. “Now it’s up to the House to follow [the Senate’s lead]; to put aside partisan posturing, end the gridlock and do what’s right for the American people,” Obama said in a weekly address.
Private student loans and some federal loans remain unaffected by the bill’s passing.
The highway transportation aspect of the bill will contribute $105 billion in spending over 27 months. The spending is expected to create or save approximately three million jobs primarily in the construction industry.
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