House Votes to Stop Student Loan Interest Rates from Increasing

Statement

After the House of Representatives today voted to pass H.R. 4628, the Interest Rate Reduction Act, Congresswoman Kathy Hochul released the following statement:

"Today, I voted for the Interest Rate Reduction Act that will stop student loan interest rates from doubling from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1st. Student loan debt now exceeds $1 trillion, outpacing credit card debt as the leading cause of financial hardship. But while over 100,000 Western New York college students, and over seven million students nationally, can temporarily breathe a sigh of relief, now is the time for the Senate to act and freeze these interest rates before they go up in 65 days.

"Earlier this week, I looked into the eyes of over 40 students at Daemen College struggling to pay for college. I saw their concern about increasing interest rates and whether they could afford the additional charges if the interest rate were to double. I now call on the U.S. Senate to pass legislation to prevent Western New York students from seeing a $1,000 increase in student loan payments next year. We must all work towards a bipartisan solution that stops this from happening."

Earlier this week, Congresswoman Hochul spoke on the House floor about the need freeze Federal Stafford Loan interest rates at 3.4% indefinitely. A video of Congresswoman Hochul's speech can be found here.

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