Congresswoman Beatty Addresses the Doubling of Student Loan Interest Rates

Statement

Congresswoman Beatty (OH-03) released the following statement regarding her opposition to the automatic doubling of student loan interest rates.

Today, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-3) voiced her concerns before the U.S. House of Representatives regarding the doubling of student loan interest rates.

On July 1, 2013, interest rates on federally backed, need-based, student loans doubled from 3.4% to 6.8%, affecting more than 7.4 million students. This doubling of the interest rate increases the cost of student loans for borrowers, discourages the use of federal loans, and exacerbates our country's troubling student debt problem.

"The doubling of student loan interest rates was completely avoidable. The Republicans do-nothing solution is untenable. Students and their families deserve access, not obstacles, to higher education opportunities, and in these tough economic times, should not have to bear the brunt of Congress's inability to take common sense action."

"I urge my colleagues to work in a bipartisan fashion immediately to reach a solution to reverse the harmful effects of the student loan interest rate hike."

To view Rep. Beatty's student loan floor speech visit: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/clip/4458355

Congresswoman Beatty has over a decade's worth of experience in the field of higher education. Previously to being elected to Congress, Rep. Beatty served as Senior Vice President of Outreach and Engagement at The Ohio State University and worked as a professor and administrator at Sinclair College.

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