Some students are burdened with the debt from student loans for decades after they graduate. Senator Bill Nelson wants to ease that burden by going after interest rates.
- Sen. Bill Nelson is filing a student loan reform bill
- Bill would cap student loan interest rates at 4 percent
- Rates are currently at 4.5 percent
At a round table discussion on Wednesday, Senator Bill Nelson said interest rates are out of control.
Nelson, D-Orlando, is proposing a cap on student loan interest rates. He says during the previous academic year, the rates were at 3.74 percent. Now they have gone up to close to 4.5 percent.
The senator says capping the interest rates at 4 percent would give students a chance to pay back their loans and make college a financially viable option for future generations.
“They need to have the certainties going forward that they can refinance that and refinance it and the whole ball of wax at 4 percent – that is provided for in the legislation,” Nelson.
The cap would affect new and current student loans.
"They are still going to have to get those student loans," said former student Sagirah Cooper. "So that can definitely affect them as they get older and start to make decisions on their career, and how they are going to pay these loans back."
Senator Nelson will be filing his student loan reform proposal in Washington next week.