South Jersey?s Andrews Wants Compromise On Student Loan Debt Deal

By Tim Jimenez

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) ? In his weekly address, President Obama called on Congress to act and come up with a plan to stop federal student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st. And one local Congressman is optimistic a deal could get done.

Seven and a half million college students could see interest rates on their federal loans double from its current 3.4 percent on July 1st, if a deal isn?t met. New Jersey Congressman Democrat Rob Andrews talks about the sticking point between his party and Republicans.

?The disagreement has been on how to pay for this and I think this week will come to a conclusion and save students from what would be a difficult and undesirable thing.?

It?s a six billion dollar price tag that Senate leaders reportedly are closing in on how to pay for, using ideas from both sides including Majority Leader Harry Reid.

?There are changes in the pension laws that would help employers have slightly lower costs to administer pension funds, slightly lower, this would offset the cost of keeping the student rates low,? adds Andrews.

Additional money could come from a list of suggestions from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell including limiting federal subsidies of undergrad loans to six years.

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