WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Treasury Department announced that federal student loan interest rates will remain near a historic low at 4.45 percent, down from a peak of 6.8 percent in 2012. In 2013, when government-set student loan interest rates were scheduled to double, U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wrote the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act to let student borrowers take advantage of lower marketplace interest rates. The law, which went into effect in 2013, has saved students and families $58 billion. 

“The bipartisan student loan agreement continues to reap dividends for students across Maine and the nation, saving them billions of dollars over the last four years,” Senator King said. “That’s money they can begin investing in their future, rather than being buried under a mountain of debt. The student loan deal we struck back in 2013 demonstrates what legislating and compromise looks like, and I hope this Congress will look to it as an example of the good we can do for the American people when we put politics aside and work on their behalf.”

“This is a true victory of bipartisanship,” said Senator Burr. “The old system of letting Congress legislate student loan interest rates wasn’t working; it was causing uncertainty and it was costing young people a lot of money. I was proud to work with Senators King and Manchin on a plan to tie student loan interest rates to the market, and I’m even prouder now that our law has continued to save families in North Carolina and across the country billions of dollars.”

“This is how the Senate is supposed to work and I consider this a win for bipartisanship,” Senator Manchin said. “I was proud to come together to pass a commonsense, long-term fix that lowered interest rates on federal student loans. This legislation lowered costs for students and provided them with the opportunity to help lead America to a better future for generations to come.”

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