School’s Out for The Summer, But Students Are Out-of-Luck Thanks To Pete Gallego

July 9, 2013

Student Loan Rates Have Doubled, Thanks To House Dems

WASHINGTON – On July 1^st, student loan rates doubled thanks to the inaction of Democrats like Pete Gallego. Gallego voted to allow rates to double—throwing yet another obstacle in front of young people in an already sputtering economy.

Gallego and his Democrat allies in Washington are putting politics over people and leaving students to pay the price.

“It’s been over a week since Pete Gallego and Washington Democrats allowed student loan rates to double,” said NRCC Communications Director Andrea Bozek. “Texas families should be outraged that Democrats cannot even agree to give young people a break in a stagnating economy.”

Pete Gallego Voted To Allow Student Loan Interest Rates To Increase. (H.R. 1911, Roll Call Vote 183, 221-198, 5/23/13)

Student Loan Rates Doubled On July 1^st. “ The legislation responds to a looming deadline: On July 1, unless the law is changed, rates for a certain type of new loan for undergraduate students in financial need will double to 6.8 percent, from 3.4 percent.” (Nick Anderson, “House Approves Republican Student Loan Bill,” The Washington Post, 5/23/13)

The House Bill “Echoes A Plan Obama Offered In April.” “[T]he Republican bill echoes a plan Obama offered in April to tie interest rates to the yield on the 10-year Treasury bill, rather than setting them via an act of Congress. (Nick Anderson, “House Approves Republican Student Loan Bill,” The Washington Post, 5/23/13)

FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01), Ron Barber (AZ-02), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09), Ami Bera (CA-07), Jim Costa (CA-16), Lois Capps (CA-24), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Jim Himes (CT-04), Elizabeth Esty (CT-05), Alan Grayson (FL-09), Patrick Murphy (FL-18), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), John Barrow (GA-12), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Bill Foster (IL-11), Bill Enyart (IL-12), Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Dave Loebsack (IA-02), John Tierney (MA-06), Bill Keating (MA-09), Tim Walz (MN-01), Collin Peterson (MN-07), Rick Nolan (MN-08), Mike McIntyre (NC-07), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02),), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), Jim Matheson (UT-04), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), and Nick Rahall (WV-03).