HARTFORD, Conn. – Legislation pushed by Connecticut’s U.S. senators to allow former college students to refinance their loans failed Wednesday to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the Senate.
The bill would have allowed people paying high interest rates on existing student loans to refinance their debt at current student loan rates, which were lowered by legislation passed last year. It relied upon the elimination of tax breaks for some upper income households in order to fill the revenue hole that would be created by lower-than-expected returns.
The bill failed on a 56-38 vote Wednesday morning.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who cited his own lingering college debt while trying to shore up support for the bill, blamed Republicans in Congress for obstructing the legislation.
“Allowing students to refinance their loans will make college more affordable for millions of people, plain and simple. But despite that, Republicans have yet again blocked another piece of legislation that would help strengthen the middle class, level the playing field, and shrink the income gap that continues to persist in this country,” Murphy said in a press release.
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