M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Reporters and Editors
RE: Senate vote on the special student-loan rate
DA: Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Senator Chuck Grassley made the following comment about the Senate vote today on a $6 billion proposal to hold the student-loan rate at 3.4 percent.
“Senators in both political parties support renewing the special student-loan rate at 3.4 percent for a second year given the state of the economy. But the Democratic majority in the Senate refuses to take up the bill passed by the House of Representatives, which would keep rates low with the very same source of funds that Democratic leaders voted to use last year to extend the payroll tax holiday. On top of that inconsistency, these funds should be used for students because the funds come from money that the federal government raises due to changes made to the student loan program. As it stands, those dollars are diverted from the student loan program to pay for the President’s 2010 health care law. They should go to helping make a college education more affordable.”