Horsford Signs Discharge Petition to Force Action Before July 1 Student Loan Rate Hike

Press Release

Today, Representative Steven Horsford (NV-4) took action to force an up-or-down vote on legislation that would prevent the doubling of student loan interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans by signing a discharge petition to require consideration of H.R. 1595.

A discharge petition requires the House to consider legislation once a majority of Members of Congress (218) have signed it.

H.R. 1595, the Student Loan Relief Act of 2013, would freeze the interest rate on these loans at a low 3.4% for the next two years -- giving Congress time to enact comprehensive student loan reform as part of a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

"The Student Loan Relief Act of 2013 would help college students by freezing low interest rates at the current 3.4% rate for two years," said Horsford. "I recently convened a Student Task Force of current or aspiring college students in my district. They shared their heartbreaking stories about struggling to afford an education to better their lives, and I am bringing their stories to Washington. Congress must act quickly to prevent a student loan hike on Nevada students that will place college out of reach for many."

Horsford signed the discharge petition to force action because Republican Leadership in the House has refused to move forward on the Student Loan Relief Act. This legislation was introduced by Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-2) and has over 150 cosponsors, but Republicans have failed to schedule a hearing or a mark-up on the bill.

On May 23, House Republicans passed a student loan bill that was even worse than allowing interest rates to double. The House Republican bill, H.R. 1911, would set federal student interest rates higher than current fixed rates for millions of borrowers for seven of the next ten years as it ties student loan rates to a variable 10-year Treasury note, marked up by 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent. If Congress does not come to agreement on student loan legislation before July 1st, the interest rate on federal subsidized Stafford student loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

According to the Congressional Research Service, under the Republican bill, students who borrow the maximum amount of subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans over five years would pay nearly $2,000 more in interest costs than if interest rates doubled.

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