Student loans at a lower interest rate? Senator makes a new push.
| NEW YORK
US Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is renewing a call for legislation that would allow student聽borrowers to refinance their federal聽student聽loans聽at lower interest rates, urging President Barack Obama to push the effort in his State of the Union speech Tuesday.
The New York Democrat said there's currently about $1.2 trillion in聽student聽loan聽debt nationwide 鈥� and the average New York graduate owes more than $27,000.
"We must strengthen our middle class families instead of forcing New Yorkers deeper into debt," she said in a statement. "Keeping a high-quality education in New York affordable is the right thing to do."
Last May, Gillibrand introduced the Federal聽Student聽Loan聽Refinancing Act, legislation she said could affect nearly nine in 10 federal聽student聽loans聽by allowing borrowers who have a higher interest rate to refinance at a fixed rate of 4 percent. Most rates for federal聽student聽debt are higher than 6 percent, she said.
There are 40 million borrowers nationwide, and 2.7 million in New York, Gillibrand said.
Gillibrand planned a news conference on the issue for Sunday afternoon. Kevin Stump, the higher education program coordinator at the New York Public Interest Research Group, was to join Gillibrand in urging the president to commit to the legislation.
Refinancing legislation would increase disposable income, allowing聽students聽and recent graduates to spend money in ways that could boost the economy, Gillibrand said.
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