Received this e-mail from Senator Brian Schatz (D. HI) regarding student loan interest rates:
Interest rates on federal student loans doubled on July 1, forcing students to pay an average of $1,000 more. And all because Congressional Republican obstruction stopped Congress from acting in time.
Today, we had a chance to do the right thing and help our struggling students by rolling back rates to 3.4% for one more year while Congress worked on a permanent solution. But the Washington Republicans stopped us again.
We should be investing in our students -- not balancing the budget on their backs.
We can still fix this, but every day counts.
Take action now. Sign our petition calling on Washington Republicans to stop holding our students hostage:
http://action.brianschatz.com/...
It is our responsibility to keep higher education within reach for families across this nation. This issue matters -- particularly for all of the families across Hawaii and the country who are sitting down at their dinner tables, trying to figure out how to pay to send their kids to college with such crippling interest rates.
Student loans should be about giving college kids the support they need to invest in themselves today -- so they can contribute to a stronger economy for tomorrow. By making education attainable, we are building a brighter future for this country.
But we must act now.
Take action now. Sign our petition calling on Washington Republicans to stop holding our students hostage:
http://action.brianschatz.com/...
Skyrocketing interest rates discourage students from getting the education that will help them build a better future for themselves and their families -- and strengthen our economy. And for those students who still decide to accept loans and go to school, they enter the workforce with massive debt.
And now, under the current system, the federal government is making a $50+ billion profit, every year, off of the very people we should be helping get a leg up in an increasingly global economy. Students are paying the price of congressional inaction, and it's unacceptable.
Take action now. Sign our petition calling on Washington Republicans to stop holding our students hostage:
http://action.brianschatz.com/...
We must do better. Thanks for standing with me.
Aloha,
Brian Schatz
U.S. Senator
You can sign Schatz's petition here:
http://action.brianschatz.com/...