Leading Democrats and the White House have taken note of the threat of a doubling of the student loan interest rate by June 30 (from 3.4% to 6.8%), and are working on steps to prevent it. However, they have to contend with a stingy House GOP that isn’t interested in finding the $6 billion or so annually that would stop the interest rate increase. This occurs as US borrowing rates to fund worthwhile investments are near zero.

The White House negotiated this excise tax deal directly with labor; Jim Messina was the lead negotiator on the White House side. The House and Senate were working on their own issues and not necessarily involved in this. Richard Trumka said on the call that he had been assured that the House and Senate signed off on the changes. However, Live Pulse talked to Joe Courtney, who was singled out by labor as their lead man on the subject, and it doesn’t exactly sound like he’s on board.