After the House overwhelming approved the bill in a 392-31 vote, students in the United States may soon receive lower interest rates for federal student loans.

"My colleagues and I have been fighting for months for a long-term market based solution that will serve students and taxpayers and the legislation before us today will do just that," said Representative John Kline, R-Minn., chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Undergraduate students would take out loans at an interest rate of 3.9 percent for subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Graduate students will borrow at 5.4 percent and parents at 6.4 percent. New rates will be applied to loans granted after July 1.

According to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the bill would provide students $25 billion in debt relief over the next five years and caps interest rates at 8.25 percent to protect students from rising interest rates.

Democrats and Republicans underwent a bitter debate concerning the bill, with Democrats vocal that the issue of student debt is still not resolved.

“While this compromise is not perfect, the need for action to reduce student loan rates is urgent,” said Representative Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn. “Students and parents across the district are telling me they’re worried that with crushing college debt they won’t be able to pursue their chosen career, buy a home, or start a family of their own.”

Though lower rates would apply now, as the economy progresses student loan rates will rise. New loan rates would only apply to new loans and the initial interest rate will remain the same for the life of the loan.

"Enactment of the Senate bill in no way means our work is done,” said Representative George Miller, D-Calif., of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “This bill helps reduce costs to students and families, but it does not solve the long-term student loan debt crisis. It does not eliminate the significant profits currently collected by the federal government from student loans. Accordingly, I remain committed to keeping interest rates down and to addressing college cost as a whole.”

Obama is expected to sign the bill into law before the end of the month.
 

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Entitled the ConnectED initiative, the President unveiled his plan at Mooresville Middle School last week during his “Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity” tour.

“In a country where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, why shouldn’t we have it in our schools,” Obama said.

The President is asking the FCC to modernize and leverage the FCC’s E-Rate program, which regulates broadband and wireless connectivity in the nation’s schools and libraries. The White House hopes to achieve a minimum speed of 100Mbps and a goal of 1Gbps.

Increased connectivity is a must for the nation’s schools in order for future generations to be competitive in the global economy, the President said. According to Obama, students in the United States are falling behind countries like South Korea, which provides 100 percent of its students with high-speed Internet and is in the process of phasing out printed textbooks. Currently, only about 20 percent of American students are provided with high-speed Internet.

“That step will better prepare our children for the jobs and challenges of the future and it will provide them a sure path in the middle class and as a consequence it will mean a stronger, more secure economy for all of us,” Obama said.

The announcement at Moorseville Middle School is symbolic in that it is considered an example of providing successful digital education at low cost per pupil. All teachers are trained in digital learning and every student is issued a laptop beginning in the third grade.

“This is not about the technology,” said Moorseville Superintendent Mark Edwards in a White House statement. “It’s not about the box. It’s about changing the culture of instruction – preparing students for their future, not our past.”

ConnectED provides emphasis on students living in under-served or rural communities, building upon the efforts of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.

The plan also equips teachers with the resources they need in order to educate students in a tech-friendly environment. ConnectED promises to provided teachers with the necessary training and digital tools through funding from Titles II and VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

“In an age where the world’s information is just a click away it demands that we bring our schools and libraries into the 21st century,” Obama said. “We can’t be stuck in the 19th century when we’re living in a 21st century economy.”

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