国际英语新闻:Obama urges Congress to prevent student loan rates hike

But Democrats argued that the bill would actually allow the rates to rise above 6.8 percent in the coming years and would create a variable loan rate system for students, which means they could be forced to pay higher rates on old loans.

The passage of the bill has set up a June fight between Republicans and Democrats over how to solve the problem.

Under Obama's plan, loan rates would equal the 10-year Treasury note rate, plus 0.9 percent, but did not include a cap on rates. Obama's plan also calls for a rate that is fixed for the life of the loan, instead of the variable rate.