Press Releases

House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) has called on President Obama and Senate Democrats to work with congressional Republicans to negotiate a long-term solution to the student loan interest rate problem.

During an interview posted on the Yahoo! Finance website earlier today, Chairman Kline said, "I’ve felt for a long time that we ought to get out of the business of having politicians decide what the student loan interest rate ought to be in a big political fight every year or so… We ought to have a long-term solution and let the market drive what those rates ought to be."

Chairman Kline continued, "The House of Representatives has passed legislation that will fix this [problem] and the Senate, as is so often the case, is wringing its hands… It would be helpful… if the president would reengage here and say look, we can work a compromise here, we’re pretty close, let’s get out there and get a long-term fix."  

Watch the interview below:

Last month the House of Representatives passed the Smarter Solutions for Students Act (H.R. 1911) with bipartisan support. The Smarter Solutions for Students Act:

• Prevents student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st.
   
• Allows students to take advantage of low interest rates whenever available.
   
• Protects students against high interest rates by imposing a reasonable cap.
   
• Ensures borrowers have the option to consolidate their loans and lock in a low fixed rate.
   
• Maintains existing federal loan repayment programs and debt management initiatives, including the generous Income-Based Repayment Plan.
   
• Serves both taxpayers and students by producing roughly the same savings over 10 years as the president’s proposal.

To learn more, visit www.republicans-edlabor.house.gov/SmarterSolutions.

# # #