FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alexa Lopez
Communications Director for Shelli Yoder for Congress
P: 812-340-2717
Email: [email protected]
(Bloomington, IN) 9th District congressional candidate Shelli Yoder today called on Congress to reauthorize the law that provides relief to undergraduate students from high repayment costs of federally subsidized direct student loans. Yoder noted that 8 million students will soon have the interest rates on their college loans doubled if Congress fails to act before July 30, when the legislation, known as the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, is scheduled to expire.
Yoder, who worked her way through college and graduate school with the help of student loans, said, “The government should not be ballooning the cost of college at a time when many families are still struggling from the effects of the worst recession in generations. Congress should be finding ways to make college more affordable, rather than less so.”
The College Cost Reduction Act–passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in 2007– reduces interest rates for college loans from 6.8% to 3.4%. If the bill is not reauthorized, the interest rate will revert back to 6.8%, adding up to $5,000 in extra loan repayments, according to a March 15 report by the Christian Science Monitor.
Yoder noted that college tuition rates have gone up by a third over the past decade. According to the Christian Science Monitor report, student loan debt totaled $857 billion in 2011. The average student graduates $25,000 in debt, and borrows twice as much as students did a decade ago. Indiana continues to reduce state funding to higher education.
Yoder will hold a press conference on Monday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. outside of Assembly Hall, a student-polling place. She will address student loan reform at this conference.
Yoder’s key issues are creating jobs and expanding economic opportunity for all Hoosier families. Her plan includes increasing opportunities for worker training, funding for health-research initiatives, and investing in infrastructure and green technologies. Shelli is one of five Democrats running in the 9th District to unseat Todd Young this November. The Democratic Primary is May 8. For more information on Yoder’s candidacy, please go to www.shelliyoderforcongress.com.
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