With 10 days remaining before the interest rate on federally subsidized Stafford loans is scheduled to double, President Barack Obama held a news conference Thursday urging Congress to find a compromise that will keep rates low.

Interest rates on Stafford loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent if a deal is not struck between the two parties in Congress by July 1.

Obama spoke for about nine minutes in the conference, which was broadcast live on the White House’s website at 1:40 p.m. Thursday.

The loan increase would affect 7.4 million students, causing them to incur an additional $1,000 in debt each year, Obama said. He noted the average student already graduates with an average of $26,000 in debt and that Americans currently owe more on student loans than credit cards.

The issue of increasing rates has been looming for several months, Obama said. He warned that the future of the middle class hinges on affordable higher education.

“This issue didn’t come out of nowhere,” he said. “But we’ve been stuck with watching Congress play ‘chicken’ with another deadline.”

But Obama said there is an effort by some members of Congress to change the subject away from the rate hike. He said rumors, such as the notion that a compromise on interest rates involves giving college students free education, are false because “the definition of a loan is it’s not free –– you have to pay it back.”

Increasing interest rates is “all about the economy,” he said.

“This is all about whether or not we are going to have the best-trained, best-educated workforce in the world,” Obama said. “That improves our economy.”

At the conclusion of the conference, Obama implored citizens to keep the pressure on Congress, through phone calls, emails, letters or the hashtag #DontDoubleMyRate.

Said Obama: “There’s nothing more powerful than millions of voices that are calling for change and all of your voices can make a difference.”

Published on June 20, 2012 at 12:00 am

Contact Dylan: dmsegelb@syr.edu | @dylan_segelbaum