Senate deal to freeze student-loan rates for one year

On Tuesday, Senate leaders reached a deal to spare more than 7 million college students on higher loan rates. The Senate reached an agreement that would freeze the interest rates for a year, preventing it from doubling from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1, and allowing for more affordable college careers as the cost of tuition continues to rise.

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid, D-Nevada, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, announced the deal on Tuesday, telling reporters they worked out the arrangement, but remain on the discussion how to push it through Congress in the final busy days before lawmakers leave Washington, D.C. for a week-long Fourth of July holiday. Reid said, “We basically have the student-loan issue worked out. The next question is: What do we put it on to make sure we can complete it?” McConnell said he and Reid “have an understanding we think will be acceptable to the House.” Praising the agreement in a statement, White House press secretary Jay Carney said, “We’re pleased that the Senate has reached a deal to keep rates low and continue offering hard-working students a fair shot at an affordable education. Higher education has never been more important to getting a good job. That’s why President Obama has made stopping this rate hike and saving 7.4 million students an average of $1,000 a priority since his State of the Union and has repeatedly called on Congress to act.”