McConnell hits Obama, Dems on student loan legislation

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) accused President Obama and Democrats of pushing legislation to stop student interest loan rates from rising only for political gain.

McConnell's speech on the Senate floor Wednesday came as Obama is making a series of speeches around the country calling on Congress to pass legislation to keep college Stafford loan interest rates at 3.4 percent. Unless legislation is passed, the rate will rise to 6.8 percent on July 1. Wednesday afternoon, Obama is set to speak at the University of Iowa, where he will reiterate his call for Congress to pass legislation to keep the interest rates from rising.

Both Republicans and Democrats have shown interest in passing legislation to keep the rates low, but Republicans appear wary about possible pay-fors that Democrats would use to retain the current rate.

"For a great many of them, the excitement and promise of President Obama's campaign four years ago has long since faded as their hopes collided with an economy that he's done so much to reshape," McConnell said. "So it's understandable that the president is so busy these days trying to persuade these students that the struggles they've faced or will soon face has more to do with a piece of legislation that we expect to fix than it does with his own failed promises. It's understandable he'd want to make them believe the fairy tale that there are villains in Washington who'd rather help millionaires and billionaires than struggling college students. But that doesn't make this kind of deception any more acceptable."

McConnell also cited that in 2007, Obama, then an Illinois senator, didn't vote on student loan interest legislation meant to keep the interest rates from rising.

"Today the president will hold another rally in which he'll tell students that unless Congress acts, their interest rates will go up in July," McConnell said. "What he won't tell them is that he cared so little about this legislation that created this problem five years ago that he didn't even show up for it. And that once he became president he didn't even bother to create a fix for this problem in his own budget."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) introduced legislation that would keep the interest rates at current levels by closing loopholes for shareholders of so-called S corporations to avoid payroll taxes if they report some of their income as company profit. Reid's legislation applies to earners who make $250,000 or more a year.

"Democrats want to pay for it by raiding Social Security and Medicare, and by making it even harder for small businesses to hire," McConnell said. "We happen to think that at a time when millions of Americans — and countless college students — can’t even find a decent job, it makes no sense whatsoever to punish the very businesses we’re counting on to hire them. It’s counterproductive, and it’s wrong."

McConnell added that Democrats were really just trying to introduce legislation that Republicans would oppose for political gain.

"And let’s be honest," the minority leader said. "The only reason Democrats have proposed this particular solution to the problem is to get Republicans to oppose it, to make us cast a vote they think will make us look bad to the voters they need to win the next election."