House debates cutting student loan rates
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD, AP Education WriterWed Jan 17, 7:58 AM ET
Continuing its march through an agenda of popular legislative initiatives, the Democratic-led House is considering cutting interest rates on some college student loans in half.
The House was scheduled to vote Wednesday on the measure, which would help an estimated 5.5 million students who get need-based federal loans.
The government pays the interest that accrues on those loans while students are in college. Students pick up the payments after they leave school.
The rates would drop from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in stages over a five-year period under the House proposal. That would cost nearly $6 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office...
Read more here.