05.16.13 | Elizabeth Warren Calls for Student Loan Changes
Last year at this time, the big issue in the news was the impending doubling of student loan interest rates. The interest rates of Subsidized Stafford Loans were set to double from 3.4% to 6.8%. Before this could happen, Congress stepped in, temporarily lowering them for another full year.
That extra year of low rates is now coming to a close, and rates are once again set to double. This is why Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act. This act would allow students to borrow at the same rate as banks, which is about “one-ninth the amount that students are asked to pay”.
Here is a quick list of what this bill seeks to do:
- The bill would charge students a rate equal to the rates banks are getting from the government (for subsidized loans only)—a rate of less than 1%.
- Loans would be funded through the federal reserve, with administration by the Department of Education
Senator Warren gives an excellent overview in her introduction of the bill to the Senate Committee. Watch it below.
Families everywhere are currently sweating over
You may have heard of Stafford loans, PLUS loans, and private student loans, but do you really know the differences between them? Is one type of loan really better than the other? Let’s find out.