To be delivered to: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate

120806_elizabeth_warren_605_ap.jpg

Wall Street banks – the ones that wrecked our economy – should not be getting a better interest rate on their government loans than young people trying to go to college.

The interest rate on federal subsidized Stafford student loans is set to increase from 3.4% to 6.8% on July 1st. If Congress doesn't act soon, millions of college students will see their student loan payments jump.

Some argue that it's too expensive to keep government loans at low interest rates, but the federal government makes low interest loans all the time – just not to everyone. Big banks can borrow money through the Federal Reserve discount window at a rate of about 0.75%.

The biggest banks in the country – the ones that wrecked our economy and cost millions of Americans their jobs – pay next to nothing on their debt, while students pay nine times as much. That isn't right.

The Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act lets students take advantage of the same low rates offered to banks for one year while Congress finds a fair, long-term solution on student loan interest rates.

Unlike the big banks, students don't have armies of lobbyists and lawyers. But they do have us. Let's do what's right and bank on students.

Here are three petitions you can sign today to send a clear message to Congress that it needs to Bank on Students -- and not the banks.

You can find your congressional representative to directly contact with the petition here.

student-loan-debt-by-state.jpg