Rates for Department of Education (ED) loans offered to graduate students should be reduced to the same rates offered to undergraduate students.
ED Graduate student loans: 6.8% - 7.9%
ED Undergraduate student loans: 3.4% - 6.8%
The ED student loan rates for graduate students are comparable to those of consumer credit cards! Rates are so high they limit career options of degree recipients for years to decades after graduation, harming the US economy. Reduced rates would make recent US graduates more competitive with foreign graduates, would allow recent graduates to take more risks starting businesses or joining small businesses, and would allow recent graduates to better support the US economy in the short & long term (consumer spending, home ownership, taxes, etc.).