There could be test votes this week in the U.S. Senate in the latest showdown over student loan rates. Interest rates on federally-backed student loans are set to double on July 1.
It’s the same situation as a year ago when the scheduled rate increase was delayed for a year.
University of Texas financial aid counselor Jamie Brown says higher student loan interest rates would delay Texans from joining the full-time work force with college educations.
“A lot of the times what students will do is they’ll decide to go part-time," Brown says. "Maybe they’ll get a job, so that they can help fund their education, but what this does is this lengthens their time to degree.”
There’s little if any interest in Congress or the White House to let rates double. What could happen is a plan to tie rates to the return on U.S. Treasury Bonds. There is some agreement on that between the White House and Senate Republicans.
