WASHINGTON, July 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With just one hour of debate, the U.S. House of Representatives hastily passed legislation which will cost many students and parents thousands of dollars more in interests on federal student loans by eliminating lender competition and choice.
H.R. 2669 would enact far-reaching changes and unfair taxes on student loans, ultimately wiping out the interest rate discounts currently available to borrowers. By eliminating the interest rate discounts that millions of borrowers are now receiving from competitive lenders: a current undergraduate with a $20,000 student consolidation loan will pay as much as $5,000 more in interest over 20 years and a current graduate student with a $60,000 consolidation loan will pay as much as $38,000 more in interest over 30 years. The bottom line is that while the sponsors of this legislation tout the benefits that some students will receive in the future, it will cost most of today's students and parents thousands more in interest when they repay their loans.
House leaders rushed H.R. 2669 through the legislative process without talking about these dramatic, unintended consequences. There have been no committee hearings to listen to students and parents' concerns, no opportunity to adequately debate and improve the bill, and no independent studies to analyze its impact. No wonder that President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation because it does not do enough to help the neediest students and "would have significant long-term costs to the taxpayer."
On a critically important issue like higher education, Congress needs real information and a true understanding of the changes it is considering. Our students' futures deserve a more careful and thoughtful legislative approach.
The Campaign to Reform Student Loans is a collective voice of organizations, families and students, calling on lawmakers to take a common sense, bipartisan approach to reforming our student loan programs. We believe that Congress must enhance competition and choices for education financing, demand the strongest ethical standards and ensure college affordability for low-income and middle-class families. For more information please visit http://www.reformstudentloans.org/.
The Campaign to Reform Student Loans
CONTACT: Sharon White, +1-202-715-1507, for The Campaign to Reform
Student Loans
Web site: http://www.reformstudentloans.org/
