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Senate Passes Compromise On Student Loan Bill

Eric Parra |
July 24, 2013 | 7:22 p.m. PDT

Executive Producer

Student loans were expected to continue rising, but the comprise is only adding more to the confusion. (creative commons)
Student loans were expected to continue rising, but the comprise is only adding more to the confusion. (creative commons)
While the argument has passed back and forth with various delays, the senate passed legislation on government issued students loans on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Obama Administration Pushes For Student Loan Rate Reduction Legislation

The legislation in question is what originally caused a spike in student loans starting on July 1st. The vote was led with an 81-18 count, over a dozen democrats having voted against the White House-backed plan. 

President Barack Obama made a statement on the issue, “"It meets the key principles I laid out from the start. It locks in low rates next year, and it doesn’t overcharge students to pay down the deficit.”

The bill’s compromise proposal links interest rates with that of the market established prices, which is still considered to be higher than the previous rate.

From NBC News:

“Some Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., argued that the plan – which would reduce current interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.86 percent – burdens students because those rates could still fluctuate as high as 10.5 percent in some cases.

"Students -- all students -- will end up paying far higher interest rates on their loans than they do right now," Warren said earlier Wednesday on the Senate floor.

"The White House is being disingenuous and is trying to sweep under the rug big increases in interest rates for students and parents in the near future," Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., said in a statement on Tuesday.

Sanders - who offered his own amendment to the proposal but failed to garner enough votes --  labeled the Senate plan "dangerous."

The bill also attempted to include a year-long provision on the interest rates, but it ultimately failed when the votes did not reach the requirement of 60 to pass. 

READ MORE: Federal Student Loan Interest Rates To Double On July 1st

Under the new bill, undergraduates will allegedly pay a maximum of 8.25 percent, while graduate students would pay 9.5 percent, rates higher than their formerly issued. 

 

Reach Executive Producer Eric Parra here.



 

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