DAVIS VOTES TO MAKE COLLEGE MORE ACCESSIBLE
House Slashes Student Loan Interest Rates January 17, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis today voted to make college more accessible for thousands of students in the Fourth District by slashing interest rates on loans over the next five years while adhering to new fiscally responsible House pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) requirements. The measure passed the House by a vote of 356 to 71.

According to the 2000 Census statistics, the Fourth District has a population of 64,939 people 25 years and over with an associate, bachelor, graduate or professional degree, a percentage of 15.2%. The national average is slightly above 30%.

Davis wants to improve upon those numbers, saying, "The dream of obtaining a college education has long been the goal of thousands of parents and students living in the rural communities of the Fourth District. By halving interest rates, my hope is these noble goals will be realized by people who would not have had an opportunity otherwise."

The College Student Relief Act of 2007, co-sponsored by Davis, would cut interest rates on need-based federal loans for undergraduate students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in five steps: from 6.8 percent to 6.12 percent in 2007; 5.44 percent in 2008; 4.76 percent in 2009; 4.08 percent in 2010; and 3.4 percent in 2011. When the interest rate cut is fully phased in 2011, the average four-year college student in Tennessee with subsidized Stafford loans will save $4,440 over the life of his or her loans.

Davis often cites the philanthropic work of fellow Pall Mall native, Sgt. Alvin C. York, on the subject of education. After returning from the battlefields of World War I, York said one of the great liberating influences in life is an education. Having never received an education, York dedicated his life to bringing educational resources to the citizens of the Upper Cumberland.

"Sgt. York couldn't have been more correct in stating that educating our young people is the key to growing a prosperous economy and improving the quality of life for all Tennesseans," Davis said.

To pay for this reduction and meet PAYGO requirements, the bill's offsets are six modest reductions in various subsidies to lenders and guaranty agencies.