Sen. Warren’s Bill Gets Cold Shoulder as Student Loan Rates Spike Monday

Lauren McCauley / Common Dreams

Despite the groundswell of support behind Senator Elizabeth Warren's (D-Mass.) popular student loan proposal, Senate leaders have dismissed the legislation opting instead to let student interest rates double Monday as they pack their bags for a Fourth of July holiday recess. Because of Congressional inaction, students will be left in the lurch as federal Stafford loans spike to 6.8 percent. The Warren bill proposes to tie student loan interest rates to the same "discounted rates" given to big banks from the Federal Reserve, lowering student loan rates to 0.75 percent and saving students thousands of dollars.