WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Kline will back Republican-sponsored legislation to keep interest on federal subsidized Stafford Loans from doubling this summer.
U.S. House members could vote on the Interest Rate Reduction Act -- which would cap the interest rates at 3.4 percent for the next year -- as early as Friday, Speaker John Boehner said in a news conference Wednesday.
Supporting the bill would represent an about-face for Kline, who had denounced the push by Democrats to keep the interest rates intact for another year, criticizing the effort as a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
"No one wants to see interest rates on federal subsidized Stafford loans double in a few short months," Kline said in a statement released Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, both President Obama and his Democrat allies in Congress have failed to put forward a responsible plan that can extend current rates without raising taxes or adding to the deficit."
The key difference between the Republican legislation and Democratic bill -- the Stop the Rate Hike Act -- is how each side would cover the estimated $6 billion in costs to keep the loan interests rates steady.
Republicans would cut spending approved for Obama's health reform law, the Affordable Care Act.
"To take health care away from middle-class and low-income families in order to keep interest rates from rising for middle-class and low-income college students is simply wrong," said Rep. George Miller of California, lead Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
