On May 18th, Plymouth State University seniors’ will end their college careers, and head into the work force. But many students have debt, and struggle to make ends meet. The average student debt is $32,000, and approximately 75 percent of students graduate with debt.
Congresswoman Ann Kuster met with Plymouth students and staff to discuss student’s loans on April 31. The congresswoman mentioned the “reason I ran for congress is that I feel very strongly about access to higher education.”
Kuster is currently attempting to improve this issue by sponsoring the Student Loan Relief Act. This bill would “keep interest rates low for another two years,” said Kuster.
Kuster later commented “There is no reasons for it [student loans] to be more expensive, it shouldn’t be a money maker for government.” Kuster continued, warning the group of faculty and students that if the Student Loan Relief Act doesn’t pass interest rates will double from 3.4 percent to 6.4 percent on July 1.
Kuster wants congress to solve this by May or June of 2013. “We’ll get this done sooner or later, we need to invest in our work force,” stated Kuster.