Senate rejects student loan bill

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.”