Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet released the following statement after the U.S. Senate approved a compromise that will prevent student loan rates from doubling for undergraduate college students across the country, including more than 166,000 in Colorado. The current 3.4 percent rate was set to rise to 6.8 percent on July 1, 2012. Under the compromise, the current rate will be extended for a year.
“This compromise is a relief for college students in Colorado who are working hard to succeed but are also already taking on tremendous debt to attend school. They know their college education will give them more opportunity. During the worst recession since the Great Depression, the highest the unemployment rate ever got for someone with a college degree was 4.7 percent. Yet in Colorado, like much of the rest of the country, student loan debt is an increasing and overwhelming problem.
“While today’s compromise is good news for students, our work should not stop here. We should continue to do what we can to make it easier, not harder, for students to afford college.”
The average 2011 bachelor’s degree recipient in Colorado graduated owing $23,662, according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Colorado ranks third among all U.S. states and territories with 11.5 percent of student loan customers defaulting, according to the Denver Post.
Earlier this year, Bennet joined students at the University of Colorado-Denver to call on Congress to block this interest rate hike.