WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement after the Senate passed legislation to prevent the doubling of interest rates on federally-subsidized Stafford student loans:
“Anyone with the drive, fortitude and desire to pursue the opportunities afforded by higher education should be able to realize that dream. Passage of today’s bipartisan legislation to prevent federal Stafford loans from doubling on July 1st will make that a little easier. That increase would have added $1,000 to the debt burden of nearly 400,000 Pennsylvanians, so I am gratified that Republicans and Democrats came together to stop that from happening.”
Studies have shown that those with college degrees can expect higher lifetime earnings and a lower chance of unemployment than those with lower levels of education. In recent decades, however, tuition rates have grown to levels that threaten to put higher education out of reach for many Pennsylvanians.
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