MinnPost: Franken, Democrats try again to lock in student-loan interest rates

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are trying again to delay a student-loan interest rate hike in lieu of a long-term deal on the matter.

A group of Democrats, including Sen. Al Franken, introduced a bill Thursday to delay the doubling of the 3.4 percent interest rate on federal subsidized loans for one year to give lawmakers time to come to a long-term deal.

Republicans and Democrats are fighting over whether to tie the interest rates to the financial markets, and at what rate, but will not be able to come to an agreement before their July 1 deadline.

Democrats say they want to hold off on a long-term fix until Congress reauthorizes federal higher education policy next year, warning that moving too quickly on major reform would force students to pay higher rates than they need to.

“We can’t make things worse for our students, and so we are talking about a one-year fix, and then working on longer-term solutions,” Franken said.

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