Press Releases
Kuster to Host Student Loan and College Affordability Telephone Town Hall
Washington, DC,
June 17, 2013
As Congress debates ways to prevent a student loan rate hike from taking effect on July 1st, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) will host a telephone town hall TOMORROW, June 18th at 6:30 pm to hear from Granite Staters about student loan debt and college affordability.
As Congress debates ways to prevent a student loan rate hike from taking effect on July 1st, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) will host a telephone town hall TOMORROW, June 18th at 6:30 pm to hear from Granite Staters about student loan debt and college affordability. If Congress fails to act, the fixed interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans will double from 3.4% to 6.8%, making it harder for students and middle class families in New Hampshire and across the country to afford higher education. Kuster will open the telephone town hall with brief introductory remarks before taking questions and hearing stories and ideas from Granite Staters. Kuster will be joined on the call by an education expert from the Center for American Progress. “Nothing is more important to me than hearing directly from Granite Staters about issues that matter to them, and two of those issues are student loan debt and college affordability,” Kuster said. “New Hampshire has the highest average student loan debt of any state in the country. If Congress fails to act in the next few weeks, our students will be hit with a rate hike that will make it even harder for them to afford higher education. That’s why I want to hear from Granite Staters about what a rate hike would mean to them and their families, and to listen to their ideas and priorities on this important issue.” In April, Kuster cosponsored the Student Loan Relief Act, common sense legislation that would prevent student loan rates from doubling in July and extend the current rate for two years. Since then, she has held roundtables at Nashua Community College (NCC), Plymouth State University (PSU), and River Valley Community College to hear directly from students about how they would be impacted by a doubling of the student loan interest rate. She also launched an online survey to hear from Granite Staters about how a doubling of interest rate on student loans would impact their families. On Tuesday, constituents will receive an automated phone call inviting them to stay on the line to participate in the telephone town hall. WHAT: Student Loan and College Affordability Telephone Town Hall WHO: Congresswoman Annie Kuster WHEN: 6:30 pm, Tuesday, June 18 HOW: Constituents will receive an automated phone call inviting them to stay on the line to join the telephone town hall. ### |