If Congress doesn't take any action, current student interest rates will double by July 1st. Senator Bill Nelson visited the University of South Florida Tampa campus Thursday to talk with students on how it would affect them.
Keeping the current interest rate at 3.4 percent for one more year will cost the federal government $6 billion and Congress can't agree where to get the funds from.
He said the House of Representatives wants to fund the $6 billion from a preventive health care program but Senator Nelson would like to take the funds from people who make more than $250,000 salary from a subchapter S corporation- who don't pay payroll tax. He said they would have to start paying that payroll tax to fund the money needed to keep the current interest rate.
Senator Nelson says he's been traveling to different universities to hear personally what students have to say.
"They forget that these are human beings out there that are being impacted and that's why it was important for me to be here and the other meetings that I've had," he said.
The Senate is to vote on this issue Tuesday May 8. Senator Nelson said the Senate needs 60 votes to break a filibuster.
