By Linda Borg
BRISTOL, RI - Sen. Jack Reed joined Roger Williams University President Donald J. Farish, faculty, and students in calling for action to prevent a student loan rate hike on July 1 and new, long-term solutions to the student debt crisis.
Last year, Senator Reed led the successful effort in Congress to freeze interest rates for need-based federal student loans, preventing them from doubling for a year.
Today, the current fixed interest rate on federal Stafford subsidized loans is 3.4 percent, but that rate will double to 6.8 percent on July 1, 2013.
Reed's Student Loan Affordability Act of 2013 would lock in lower rates for two years while Congress works on a long-term solution to slow the rapid accumulation of student loan debt.