[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10591]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATE SET TO DOUBLE

  (Mr. LANGEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, in 3 short days, the student loan interest 
rate is set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent unless Congress 
takes action. This is unacceptable. College is already too expensive 
for far too many young people, and doubling the interest rate on 
student loans will only make things worse. We should be working 
together to solve this looming crisis.
  Regrettably, the only vote we have had on this is a Republican-led 
bill that would make college more expensive and prevent students from 
locking in a fixed rate. By the time 2013's freshmen graduate, they 
will be paying more than double today's current rate for subsidized 
Stafford loans.
  Rather than waging another partisan fight on a bill that will not 
pass in the Senate and the President is prepared to veto, we should 
consider legislation that has a chance of becoming law and that will 
provide real relief to students and their families. I, therefore, 
strongly urge House Republican leaders to allow a vote on legislation I 
proudly cosponsored by Congressman Courtney of Connecticut to extend 
the current low rate for an additional 2 years.
  It is a moral and economic imperative that we provide a top-notch 
education to every student in this country regardless of their 
financial means. Congress must act to fix this problem, and the clock 
is ticking.

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