[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES

  (Mrs. BEATTY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mrs. BEATTY. I rise today to address the recent doubling of interest 
rates on federally backed, needs-based student loans. Students deserve 
access, not obstacles, to higher education. These rate hikes will make 
college less affordable at a time when we should be encouraging, not 
discouraging, people to seek higher education opportunities to grow our 
economy and to create jobs. But due to House Republicans' failure to 
act, the interest rate on college loans has doubled from 3.4 percent to 
6.8 percent for some 7.4 million students.
  In these tough economic times, Democrats understand we should be 
making every effort possible to increase access to higher education for 
all Americans. There is no time left. We need to act now to reverse the 
rate hike and keep student loan interest rates low so more Americans 
can have a fair shot at a college education.

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