About

About Reduce the Rate

Today, our nation’s largest banks, beneficiaries of bailout funds, are able to borrow money at an interest rate of less than 1%; but students are forced to borrow at 4% - 18%. Many young people are making their student loan payments with credit cards, some paying 20% or more on that debt. They are putting their futures at risk.

The Rainbow PUSH Education Stimulus Plan adresses this crisis. It calls on Congress to:

• Reduce the interest rate on all student loans to 1%.
  If banks can borrow money at 1% or less, then so should our students.
• Extend the grace period before loan repayment begins from 6 months to 18 months for students who graduate.
  In these tough economic times, it takes a college graduate an average of 6 months to 1 year to find a job. The rules should reflect this reality.
• Stop penalizing schools for student loan defaults.
  Schools should not be penalized for students who don’t pay back their loans.
• Increase Pell Grants to cover the average yearly cost of a public 4 year institution.
  The real cost of college and the impact of the current financial crisis both need to be reflected in the dollar value of Pell Grants.

We believe that access to education is an inherent right of all Americans. It should not be postponed or denied due to lack of access to affordable student loans. We urge President Obama and Congress to ACT NOW.

ReduceTheRate.org is a campaign of Rainbow PUSH Coalition.