The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill aiming to keep federal student loan interest rates at the current 3.4 percent. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) voted against the bill.
Dubbed the Interest Rate Reduction Act, the house bill passed 215 to 195, with 22 representatives absent for the vote.
The interest rate for federally-issued loans is scheduled to double from 3.4 to 6.8 percent in July. Lawmakers—from both the Left and Right—have offered up plans to avoid the rate hike.
The bill passed by the house last week was a piece of GOP-crafted legislation that proposed the revenue that would be lost by keeping interest rates low be made up by cutting $12 billion from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which was created by the 2010 health care reform bill. The Obama Administration has said it will veto the GOP’s effort.
Miller—a Northwest Florida Republican—voted against his party’s bill.
“My concern is the student loan discount would only apply to Stafford student loans and only to new borrowers and for that limited group, it will only save them about $7 a month. In return, this one year extension will cost the taxpayers $5.9 billion,†Miller said in an emailed statement. “Not only does this subsidy fail to stem the rising cost of education, it does nothing to improve the economy, so that recent college graduates can find jobs commensurate with their education.â€