U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) voted July 31 against H.R. 1911, legislation that will increase long-term loan rates for students and families trying to afford higher education.

The bill ties student loan interest rates to the 10-year Treasury loan rate plus an extra 2.05%.

“I will not support a bill that aims to balance our federal deficit on the backs of students,” said Kind. “This legislation will ultimately force our students to pay even higher interest rates, putting them deeper in debt. That will hurt families trying to pay for college which puts America at a competitive disadvantage on the world stage.”

Kind has consistently fought to prevent the doubling of student loans, which recently jumped from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. He signed a discharge petition to force an up or down vote on the Student Loan Relief Act, a bill that would extend the 3.4% interest rate on Stafford loans until July 1, 2015.

Due to the failure of Congress to act, the House was faced twith flawed legislation that will result in interest rates exceeding 6.8% within the next five years, raising costs on Wisconsin students by thousands of dollars.