Peters, college students, community leaders spoke on how rate hike on July 1 will cause student an extra $1,000 debt per year

Farmington Hills, MI – U.S. Rep. Gary Peters recently hosted a press conference to continue his call for Congress to stop student loan rate hikes in 60 days. At the Wayne State University Oakland Center in Farmington Hills, Peters discussed his fight in Congress to keep college affordable and not let student loans double overnight on July 1. If Congress fails to act, the average subsidized Stafford student loan borrower will take on an extra $1,000 in debt for each year that they attend college, about $4,000 for four years.

At the event Peters was joined by several local college students, community leaders, financial aid representatives, and college administrators on the need for rates to not double from 3.4% to 6.8%.

“In 60 days, more than 303,000 students in Michigan will find it harder to pay for college due to student loan interest rates doubling,” said U.S. Rep. Gary Peters.  “Before I came to Congress, I counseled Greater Detroit area families on financial planning for their future.  I’m fighting to do everything possible to make college more affordable and more accessible to all young people because a college education is the key to a bright future. If Congress doesn’t act, our children will be the ones who pay the price.”

Local college students Norman Dotson from Wayne State University, Will Butler from University of Michigan and MaVida Burrus from Walsh College spoke on the importance of Peters’ work.

“I’m scared about what will happen after I graduate from Wayne State University and I’ll have to pay these loans back,” said Norman Dotson, a senior at Wayne State University. It’s something that you don’t look forward to paying the loan with an interest doubling.” 
 
Will Butler, a senior at the University of Michigan who works part time during the school year and full time during the summer to help pay for his college education said:  “It isn’t right for Congress to make it harder for us to go to college and it certainly isn’t right for some of Congress to be holding my education hostage.”

MaVida Burrus, a Walsh College student, added: “Raising the interest rate hurts me. And it hurts my family. It kind of dampens our dreams and keeps us from believing that we can reach the goal that we set out, which is to have a degree, to have that job, and be a productive society member.”

In 2007, President Bush signed the College Cost Reduction Act into law which cut this rate and 77 House Republicans voted for it. At the State of the Union, President Obama called for these rates to remain in place. Legislation was introduced immediately afterwards and Peters has been a leader on this legislation that has 153 co-sponsors to date. 

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