Politics
Importance of Obama push on student loans for black college students
US President Barack Obama shakes hands with students during a visit to the Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School October 15, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. PHOTO/Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
An estimated 1.5 million black students could see their student loans increase unless Congress and President Obama reach an agreement to keep current rates in place.
Obama will give speeches at the University of North Carolina and the University of Colorado Tuesday, pushing his proposal to prevent a scheduled hike in rates for subsidized Stafford Loans. In 2007, Congress and President Bush agreed to gradually reduce the interest rates of these loans from 6.8 to 3.4 percent, but that provision expires in July, and new loans would be issued with the 6.8 percent rate if legislation is not passed.
The Department of Education estimates the increase would result in about US$1,000 in additional loan costs for each student. African-Americans carry the highest levels of high student debt.
