Obama pushes low-interest student loans
WASHINGTON -- Pivoting to his latest election-year theme, President Barack Obama will go before college crowds in three swing states to warn of financial doom for millions of students if Congress does not halt a looming spike in interest rates.
His clear political mission: rallying young voters whose support he needs again.
Obama's trip next week will take him to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Iowa. The issue: Interest rates are set to double on July 1, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, on a popular federal loan for low- and middle-income undergraduates.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said more than 7 million students would be financially squeezed if rates go up, to the cost of an additional $1,000 on average.
Another problem: The cost of keeping the interest rates frozen on these subsidized Stafford loans could run $6 billion a year. -- AP
'He will be ... coming out of prison in a body bag' Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. spoke with NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa about what life is like for the Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann in jail.
'He will be ... coming out of prison in a body bag' Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon Jr. spoke with NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa about what life is like for the Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann in jail.
