Senate rejects student loan bill

last updated 8 January 2015

The Senate last week rejected dueling Democratic and Republican plans to avert the doubling of interest rates on federal college loans for 7.4 million students, but a compromise is expected before the July 1 deadline. Both parties want to cap the interest rate at 3.4 percent for another year, which would cost $6 billion. Each side’s bill, however, pays for the cap in a way the other side won’t tolerate. Democrats proposed closing tax loopholes for wealthy business owners, while Republicans wanted to abolish a federal health-care fund. “We are optimistic,” said Getachew Kassa of the U.S. Student Association, “but it is very frustrating to see the current bill being stalled.”