Health & Fitness
Congress Should Pass Responsible Bill to Prevent Student Loan Interest Rates from Doubling, Not Political Attacks on Women
Congress must prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1. There is no question that the burden on our middle class families and students will soar if they jump from 3.4% to 6.8%.
Congress must prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1. There is no question that the burden on our middle class families and students will soar if interest rates double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Weigh in now on how we should prevent such an increase on Facebook.
More than 7 million students and their families nation-wide and some 177,000 in the Commonwealth rely on Subsidized Stafford Loans to help pay for college. It is irresponsible and reckless to let their interest rates double overnight, especially at a time that college costs are skyrocketing and our economy is still recovering.
That’s why I introduced the Stop the Rate Hike Act of 2012 to keep interest rates in check for another year. My bill is common sense and fully paid for by closing certain tax subsidies for Big Oil. Everyone can agree that closing tax loopholes on a billion dollar industry makes sense, right?
Find out what's happening in Hamilton-Wenhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Wrong.
Republicans are jamming through their own one year fix, on the backs of our middle class families. The bill they plan to bring to the House Floor for a vote is paid for by cutting funds to preventive care for women and children.
Find out what's happening in Hamilton-Wenhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
That means pitting education for our students against critical preventive care for women and children, like breast and cervical cancer screenings, initiatives to reduce birth defects, and childhood immunizations. Clearly, this is not a serious attempt to keep student loan interest rates down or protect the health of our middle class families.
Congress is expected to vote on the Republican bill today. As I said on the House Floor, we should have the opportunity to vote on both bills.
Americans across this country deserve a real debate and a real effort to put our middle class families and students first. You can add your voice to the debate here, and weigh in on which bill you support.
If the flawed Republican bill attacking women's health passes the House, the Senate will need to find a better offset that all members, Democrats and Republicans can support and that does not target women once again.
