At Temple University Casey Calls for Congress to Come Together on Bipartisan
Last Year, Over 21,000 Temple Students Received Direct Stafford Loans Accounting for $110 Million
Philadelphia PA- With two weeks to go before interest rates on direct, subsidized Stafford loans doubles, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), joined by students and educators at Temple University, called on Congress to come together to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling. Casey discussed the need and urgency for a bipartisan solution and highlighted the fact that 21,000 students at Temple alone received direct, subsidized Stafford loans last year.
I'm calling on Congress to come together to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling. [pic]: http://t.co/5G0v5P9fDZ
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) June 17, 2013
“Paying for college is a major burden for families and students, and Congress shouldn’t add to that by allowing the interest rate on student loans to double,” Senator Casey said. “Congress has a chance to work in a bipartisan fashion to prevent student loan rates from doubling which would prevent a significant challenge for families and hurt the economy. With two weeks to go, it’s critical that Congress take immediate steps to protect families and students.”
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 cut the fixed interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduate students to 3.4 percent over a set period of time, but the interest rates on any new subsidized Stafford loans will double to 6.8 percent on July 1, 2013 unless Congress takes action. The rate increase would not apply to loans that are currently in repayment or that have already been disbursed, but students still attending or entering school after July 1st that need to take out federally-subsidized Stafford loans would pay higher rates on new loans, adding even more to their existing debt load.
Across Pennsylvania college students and families benefit from the current interest rate. Doubling the current loan rate from 3.4% to 6.8% would impact nearly 400,000 Pennsylvania students and costing them an average of $956 each. Statewide and school by school data can be found Here and Here
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