195,000 MASSACHUSETTS STUDENTS RECEIVED SUBSIDIZED STAFFORD LOANS LAST YEAR

STUDENTS FACE DOUBLING OF INTEREST RATES ON NEW LOANS ON JULY 1ST

Somerville, MA - With the July 1st deadline for Congress to act rapidly approaching, students across Massachusetts are facing the possibility that interest rates on new loans will double beginning next week.

Republican Scott Brown has joined with Republican leaders in Congress to block legislation that would have prevented this interest rate increase, once again failing to stand for Massachusetts students and their families.

“Students across the Commonwealth who are already under a mountain of debt now face the possibility that the cost of paying for their education will sharply increase next week,” said Mindy Myers, campaign manager for Elizabeth Warren for Massachusetts. “These are students who played by the rules and are investing in their future. Yet Scott Brown has sided with Republican leaders in Congress to block legislation to stop this interest rate increase. Elizabeth Warren knows that Massachusetts students can’t afford to pay more in loans, and has called on Congress to take action. Brown needs to follow her lead and do what's best for students.”

Last month, students at colleges and universities across the Commonwealth organized their classmates by holding informational campus events, organizing phone banks on their campuses to reach hundreds of young voters, and writing letters to the editors of their campus newspapers, joining Warren to call on Congress to take action to prevent the rise in interest rates.