House votes to stop student loan rate hike

WASHINGTON -- Republicans defied a veto threat and the House voted Friday to prevent federal loan costs from doubling for millions of college students.

The vote gave the GOP a momentary election-year triumph on a bill that has become enmeshed in partisan battles over the economy, women's issues and President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

The measure's 215-195 passage was largely symbolic because the package is going nowhere in the Democratic-dominated Senate.

Both parties agree students' interest costs should not rise, but they are clashing along a familiar fault line over how to cover the $5.9-billion tab: Republicans want spending cuts; Democrats want higher revenues.

Friday's vote underscored how, with Election Day just over six months away, much of Congress' work and passion can be aimed as much at political positioning as it is at writing law. Both parties want to show they are trying to help college students and their families cope in today's unforgiving economy and, when possible, force their opponents to cast votes that might create fodder for TV attack ads.

The GOP bill would keep interest rates for subsidized Stafford loans at 3.4 percent for another year, rather than growing to 6.8 percent on July 1 as they would under a law enacted five years ago by a Democratic Congress. The increase would affect 7.4 million students and, the Obama administration says, cost each an average $1,000 over the life of their loans.

Democrats trained their fire on the Republican plan to pay for the bill by abolishing a preventive health fund created by Obama's 2010 revamping of the health care system.