“If we fail to roll back this increase these students will pile on more debt,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said ahead of the vote. “Students shouldn’t suffer because of some senators standing in the way of a compromise.” [...] Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Angus King (I-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Dele.) introduced a bipartisan alternative similar to what House Republicans passed last month. The Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act requires all newly issued student loans be set to the U.S. Treasury 10-year borrowing rate plus 1.85 percent for undergraduate loans. The cap on interest rates for consolidated loans would be 8.25 percent.

On July 1, student loan interest rates doubled, from 3.4 percent to 6.8. In response, Congress went on vacation. But they're back now, and the Senate held a cloture vote on a retroactive fix that would hold rates at 3.4 percent for another year. Republicans filibustered, with help from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Angus King (I-ME), and the cloture vote failed 51-49.Carper voted with Democrats on Wednesday. Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing on the Republican/Manchin plan. One of the key problems for Democrats is that Republican/Machin bill doesn't cap interest rates for new loans, just consolidated loans—rates could rise even higher in the future. And student loan debt could go beyond the current explosion to actual catastrophe.

Do you live in Maine or West Virginia? Take action now by e-mailing Senators King or Manchin.

