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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Student Loans: Interest Rate Bill By George Miller Would Cut Tax Loopholes To Keep Rate Down For A Year

Student Loans: Interest Rate Bill By George Miller Would Cut Tax Loopholes To Keep Rate Down For A Year:


Student Loans: Interest Rate Bill By George Miller Would Cut Tax Loopholes To Keep Rate Down For A Year

As President Barack Obama makes his way across the country to slam an impending increase in federal student loan-interest rates, a group of congressional Democrats is announcing plans to introduce a legislative fix.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, announced late Tuesday plans to introduce the "Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike of 2012." According to Miller, the bill would prevent the interest rate for federally subsidized Stafford loans from doubling from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent for one year.

The bill would pay for the extension of the interest-rate cut -- an estimated $6 billion -- by closing a loophole that allows Americans making more than $250,000 from certain corporations to avoid paying Medicare payroll taxes.

But the measure is unlikely to garner bipartisan support. Already, an amendment to Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.)