Reid Proposes New Solution to Student Loan Interest Rates
The Senate has been in a heated debate about how to prevent the increase in interest rates on student loans that will take effect on July 1 if no measure is passed to solve this. Senator Harry Reid has been at the forefront of this debate and previously presented a solution that would raise Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes on some high earning owners of private companies.
This was refused by the Republicans.
Now, Reid has come back with a new solution that some see as a step toward finding a solution. This issue is of uttermost importance to the Democrats since there is an upcoming election and it could demotivate young voters that were so enthusiastic the last time around.
One of Reid’s proposals would help raise an additional $8 billion by charging a higher premium on insurance for any pensions that were underfunded. In addition, Reid plans to raise $10 billion more by easing rules on pension funding so that businesses would receive fewer tax deductions on pension contributions.
These ideas are a more acceptable approach to many of the Republicans who refuse to consider the initial proposal but there is still uncertainty on the current plan. One of the Republicans, Mitch McConnell said, “All the president has to do is just pick up his mail, choose one of the bipartisan proposals we laid out in our letter, proposals he's already shown he supports and then announce to the students that the problems' been solved.”
This pressing issue will need an immediate solution considering that the deadline is right around the corner. Students all over America are going to feel the pain if nothing is done as the interest rates will immediately go up without hesitation. This will sway young voters in one way or another but in the end the Senate will need come to a compromise in order to prevent any further hardship on student borrowers.
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