Mark Pryor: “in the next few short days, on July 1, the interest rate for subsidized Stafford loans are set to double. The problem is…”

“in the next few short days, on July 1, the interest rate for subsidized Stafford loans are set to double. The problem is that with the subsidized Stafford loans, we are talking about students who tend to be lower income. Many of these students are first-generation college students, and they tend to be people who work the hardest to get what they have. They tend to not have very much money or resources and not very many connections. They don't have a lot of advantages. We have had several people from around the State of Arkansas e-mail or write my office. One of those who wrote to me is Donovan. He is a father who works construction to support his kids. He has two kids in college, one in the Marines, and one about to graduate from high school. He cannot afford to pay his living expenses for himself and his family and their education without the help of student loans. Kim is another. She is a first-generation college graduate who is working to pay off $85,000 in student loan debts. As she is paying that down, she doesn't have the money to save for her own children's education. Brandon is another story. Brandon goes to Southern Arkansas University. He is working hard to afford his education and pay for it, but he is struggling with the high cost of tuition, room and board, and books. He is worried he is not going to be able to afford college if the interest rate goes up.…”