Whitehouse: Republican Congress Puts College Further Out of Reach
Whitehouse: Republican Congress Puts College Further Out of Reach
Calls on Lawmakers to Halt Planned Increases in Student Loan Interest Rates
With interest rates on federal college loans set to rise to their highest levels in six years, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse called on the Republican-led Congress to repeal legislation that would force interest rates even higher to help offset expanded tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
"A college education should be about your capacity to learn - not your ability to pay," Whitehouse said. "This Republican Congress should get its priorities straight and act immediately to give students and their families some relief from high interest rates and keep the doors of a higher education open to all American young people."
On July 1, interest rates on many federal student loans are set to go up automatically - to 7.14% for Stafford Loans, an increase of almost 2% over last year's rate and the highest levels in six years, and 7.94% for Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student (PLUS) Loans. To make matters worse, Senate Republicans late last year passed legislation as part of a massive cut to student aid programs that would raise the PLUS loan interest rate even further, to 8.5%, for all loans disbursed after July 1. That package also eliminated expiring tax deductions for college tuition and fees to help pay for extending a number of George Bush's tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.
Higher interest rates could impact a significant number of college students in Rhode Island. A Whitehouse campaign study found that as of this month, students pursuing higher education in Rhode Island held more than 63,000 federal loans for a total of over $315 million.
Whitehouse also sent an e-mail message today to alert Rhode Islanders of ways to minimize the impact of the interest rate hike. Borrowers who have taken out at least one federal loan may be able to consolidate loans to lock in lower interest rates and save money, if they act by June 30. Information on federal student loan consolidation is available at http://www.loanconsolidation.ed.gov or by calling 1-800-557-7392.
Endorsed last month by the National Education Association (NEA), Whitehouse has pledged to work to double the maximum Pell Grant award to help restore some of the purchasing power of this critically-important financial assistance. In the 2003-04 school year, the most recent for which federal data is available, 13,255 Rhode Island students received Pell Grants. The Center for American Progress found last year that Pell Grants have lost much of their purchasing power since their creation in 1976, and that without a significant increase in awards, the grants will cover only 25 percent of college costs by 2010.
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