On the recordJuly 24, 2013
And that would be true for this year and next year and the year after, almost--not quite--this is 3.86, it would be 6.8. So they would be paying 6.8 percent on every loan they take out this year rather than 3.86 percent, which I might point out also covers both subsidized and unsubsidized loans. That is a good deal. Again, I say to the Senator that by keeping the rates like that--and this is another good point to make and I think people should understand. A student borrowing this year at 3.86 percent locks that in for the lifetime of the loan--locks that in. It doesn't go to 8.25 percent. That 8.25 is a cap in case interest rates start going up. I would point out to my friend from Illinois that 8.25 is what we had in the 1990s, and five times in the 1990s we hit that cap, so we protected students five times in the 1990s at that 8.25 percent. I say to my friend we have to pass this bill to keep students from paying 6.8 percent on their loans this year. Amendment No. 1773 On behalf of Senator Manchin, I call up his amendment which is at the desk. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Baldwin). The clerk will report. The bill clerk read as follows: The Senator from Iowa [Mr. Harkin], for Mr. Manchin, Mr. Burr, Mr. King, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Carper, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. Durbin, proposes an amendment numbered 1773.
