Alexander Statement on Student Loan Solution by July 1

Washington, D.C., May 31 –U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement regarding President Obama’s call for Congress to prevent rates on subsidized Stafford Loans from doubling on July 1:

"Senate Republicans support a permanent solution that will reduce interest rates for 100 percent of new student loans, not a short-term political fix that reduces rates for 40 percent of new loans. This would be fair to students and fair to taxpayers. Since the House of Representatives has already passed a permanent solution that seems to be much like what the president and Senate Republicans support, Congress should be able to agree on it before July 1." 

Alexander, with Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Johnny Isakson (R-G.A.), in April introduced the “Comprehensive Student Loan Protection Act,” a bill that requires that, for each academic year, all newly-issued Stafford, Graduate PLUS, and Parent PLUS loans be set to the U.S. Treasury 10-year borrowing rate plus 3 percentage points. It would lower the interest rate for this coming school year for all newly issued federal student loans to a fixed rate of 4.75 percent, based on the May 15 auction rate of 1.75 percent.

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