Student Loan Rates Bill – Cloture - Vote Rejected (51-46, 2 Not Voting) In May, Senate Democrats introduced their alternative to a House Republican plan for setting Federal Direct Stafford Loan interest rates. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., would have extended the 3.4 percent rates on Stafford Loans for another two years. It would have paid for the estimated $8.3 billion cost of this extension by closing tax loopholes on some pensions and corporate accounts and by applying an excise tax on oil produced from tar sands. The vote to invoke cloture failed almost entirely along partisan lines, with only Democrat Joe Manchin III of West Virginia breaking ranks to vote no with all Senate Republicans. Although it failed, the bill is a line in the sand for the Senate majority, which strongly opposes the market-based House plan that would tie interest rates to the market interest rate of 10-year Treasury bills and allow rates to rise up to 10.5 percent for some loans. Congress now has three weeks to find a compromise solution before rates double on July 1. Sen. Jay Rockefeller voted YES Sen. Joe Manchin III voted NO
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:03:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015