Student Loan Vote: Republicans Block Bill To Extend Low Interest Rates

Well, let the games begin. Once again elected officials are playing political kickball, volleyball with our lives.  They do not seem to get how important even the smallest things are in our lives.  Increased student loans will cause unprecedented harm to those of us still paying on our student loans.  However, at some point, they need to address why the cost of tuition has increased so much.

Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a bill that would have frozen student loan interest rates before they are set to double on July 1.

In a partisan vote of 52 to 45, the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed to begin debate on the Democratic bill. Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) was the lone Republican to vote "present." A Snowe spokesman told The Huffington Post her vote was related to her practice of voting "present" on legislation that contains the potential or appearance of association with the private business activity of her husband.

The vote wasn't much of a surprise: Republicans have been signaling they would filibuster the bill because of its cost offsets. Democrats would cover the $6 billion cost of keeping student loan interest rates at 3.4 percent for another year by raising Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes on certain high-earners. By
contrast, Republicans have called for nixing a preventive health fund to pay for it.

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