WASHINGTON — Efforts to keep interest rates on new student loans from doubling appeared to be falling apart Wednesday as the Democratic leader of the Senate declared a bipartisan proposal unacceptable.
With just days to spare before a July 1 deadline sends subsidized Stafford loan rates up from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, a group of senators from both parties announced a plan that would link interest rates on new federally backed loans to the financial markets. The deal would avert a costly rate hike for now but could spell higher rates in coming years.