Sample Letter to House Rep.
Below is a sample letter to your House Representative. Feel free to cut and paste this text into a letter, fax or email:
Representative ______
Address
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Congress(woman/man) ________,
As you may be aware, currently a portion of the HEA authorizes the consolidation of eligible federally funded student loans. The federal consolidation loans are avidly marketed by lenders who lure prospective borrowers with promises of significantly decreased monthly payments, dramatic savings over the life of the loan, and the ease of paying one bill instead of many per month. Although there are a few benefits to consolidation, students who choose this option learn after the fact that they give up any possibility of refinancing their consolidated loans should rates go down. Thus, there is a one consolidation per borrower rule, and interest rates are locked in once a loan is consolidated.
The obvious question is: Why is it possible to refinance home mortgages and other types of loans, but not student loans? Many student borrowers are asking this question, and have been searching for relief from the staggering monthly payments they must make because they consolidated at a time when interest rates were significantly higher than they are now.
In the past few years, interest rates on Federal Student Loans have fallen to all time low percentages, a fact much publicized in the media, but very few media outlets mention a considerable portion of the population locked into higher interest rates with no hope of refinancing.
Congressional representatives have introduced bipartisan legislation to Congress in the past on this matter, which bills have continually been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness, where they have all languished.
I am writing to ask you to vocally support such legislation on behalf of your constituents and others who pursued higher education to improve their future, only to end up frustrated, angry and worried for the coming years of extremely high payments. I am eager to see something done about the injustice of this situation. The option of refinancing a consolidated student loan would undoubtedly prevent default, would promote the purposes of the HEA and could be a step towards stimulating a stagnant economy. Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding your position on this important legislation.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
Address
City, ST
Zip
Phone
E-Mail