Political Quotes

“I thank the Chair. Mr. President, we voted at noon today on whether we were going to start the debate on the student loan interest rate bill. For those who are following it, the largest Federal loan to college students, the Stafford loan, has a current interest rate of 3.4 percent. That interest rate expires on July 1 and doubles to 6.8 percent, meaning any students taking out a loan after that date will pay twice as much in interest. The practical impact of that is fairly clear: If you were to borrow $20,000 to go to college through a Federal Stafford loan and paid 3.4 percent on that $20,000, you would find that you were paying $4,000 less than you would pay if you were at 6.8 percent. So it adds roughly 20 percent to the cost of that student's loan over the life of repayment. That is a significant expense. Most of us are aware, or should be, that students across America are going more deeply and deeply into debt to go to college. Average college indebtedness: $24,000. But an average does not tell the story because if you have one hand over a flame and one hand in a freezer, on average you have to feel just fine. But in this case, students are going much more deeply into debt than $24,000, and the interest rate on the loan is significant. So it would seem this is a pushover.…”