Murkowski Votes Against Tax Hike, Student Loan “Band Aid Bill”
Senator Continues to Advocate for Bipartisan Permanent Fix to Student Loan Rates
WASHINGTON, DC — Senator Lisa Murkowski today maintained her support for a permanent, comprehensive solution to the student loan rate issue she has co-sponsored with Republicans, Democrats and Independents in the Senate: the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act. In doing so, she again rejected the Senate Majority’s one-year, partial solution that only addresses subsidized undergraduate Stafford loans and would be paid for by raising taxes on pension and retirement account benefits.
“America’s college students deserve the lowest loan rates possible, but they also deserve a permanent solution for all students instead of a one year fix for only some of them – paid for with a tax hike on hard-working Americans’ retirement accounts. That’s why I voted against the band-aid bill proposed by the Senate majority today and why I continue to hope the Majority will allow a vote on the Bipartisan Student Loan Security Act I co-sponsored, which is based on a plan by the Obama administration and very similar to the loan bill passed by the House of Representatives. I remain optimistic that we will find a solution to this problem, but urge my Majority colleagues to put politics aside and keep our students from deeper debt.”
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