Failure to act would have bumped interest rates to 6.8 percent beginning July 1. (Alan Cleaver/Flickr)

Under the agreement, interest rates for Stafford loans would remain at 3.4 percent through next June 30.  If Congress fails to approve the agreement, interest rates would double to 6.8 percent for all new loans beginning July 1.  The government reports nearly 7.4 million students will access Stafford loans in the next year.

Republicans and Democrats have both supported the low rates, shifting talks over to the $6 billion cost to achieve this. House leaders refused comment on the agreement, but $5 billion is expected to come from Democratic pension proposals.  The remaining $1 billion would come from a Republican-backed plan to limit federal subsidies for undergraduate Stafford loans up to six years.

Read the full story at the Associated Press or the Wall Street Journal.

See more of Neon Tommy's coverage on student loans here.

Reach Supervising Executive Producer Amanda Martinez here.