Washington – The American Association of University Women supports a proposed House of Representatives Bill (H.R. 5) that would cut the interest rates on some student loans in half.
The bill, introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the new Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, would decrease the interest rates on federally subsidized undergraduate student loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over five years. Members of the House will vote on the bill on Jan. 17.
“AAUW believes this bill is a step in the right direction to alleviate the growing burden of loans on our nation’s students,” said Lisa Maatz, AAUW director of public policy and government relations. “We urge the House to pass H.R. 5 to help students realize the dream of a college education without mortgaging their futures.”
U.S. Department of Education studies show that the increasing cost of attending college and the lifelong impact of college expenses can serve as a deterrent for some prospective students who want to enroll.
Tuition and fees at four-year public universities have increased by 41 percent since 2000. The average student graduates from college with $17,500 in loan debt—almost 45 percent more than 11 years ago, according to the Department of Education.
Loan repayment is an even more significant burden for women college graduates, who earn less on average over the course of their lives than their male counterparts. According to AAUW Educational Foundation research, college-educated women age 25 and older earned 75 percent of what their male peers earned in 2004. This pay gap appears within the first year after college – even when women are working full-time in the same fields as men – and widens in the first ten years in the workforce.
“No student wants to borrow more than is necessary to finance their education, and when they do borrow they should have access to loans that carry the most favorable terms,” Maatz said. “Affordable loans are an important part of efforts to increase access to higher education, which is imperative to helping women and their families achieve economic independence.”
For more information or to schedule an interview with AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz, please contact Rebecca Leaf, senior media relations associate at 202/785-7738, leafr@aauw.org or Ashley Carr, director of communications at 202/785-7745, carra@aauw.org.
