[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 98 (Wednesday, July 10, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S5584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             STUDENT LOANS

  Mr. REID. In a couple of hours we will vote on whether to begin 
debate on our plan to keep loan rates low for students for an 
additional year. Last month Republican obstruction forced interest 
rates to double from 3.4 percent to 6 percent for about 7 million 
college students.
  If we fail to roll back this increase, those students will each pile 
on lots of new debt to get a college education. These rates will be 
particularly harmful to low- and middle-income families that rely on 
these Federal loans more than anyone else.
  We have the Pell grants, which go to low-income people, but people 
who are middle class have to do these loans; schools have become so 
expensive. States have cut back on the support they give to colleges, 
so this is a very difficult situation.
  Students shouldn't suffer because some Senators are standing in the 
way of that compromise. That is why we have proposed a 1-year extension 
of last year's 3.4 percent rate. We don't want it to double. The 
extension will allow us to craft a long-term solution to mounting 
college debt without harming students in the short term. However, a 
number of Senators met at my direction this morning at 9 o'clock, and 
there is progress being made. Maybe we can come up with a compromise. 
It will be imperfect, like a lot of things that happen legislatively, 
but it will be a way for us to move forward. The meeting went very 
well. It was done in Senator Durbin's office. Democrats and Republicans 
attended that meeting. I think we are making some progress.

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