President Obama Reaches Out to Young Voters

President Barack Obama is coming to Iowa Wednesday to tell young voters he wants to help.

By Fatima Rahmatullah

CREATED Apr. 24, 2012

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  • Today President Obama kicked off a two-day tour of college campuses and universities. He's trying to push Congress to renew a low-interest program for federally subsidized student loans. Video by kmtv.com

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Omaha, NE – President Barack Obama is coming to Iowa Wednesday to tell young voters he wants to help. Right now, the interest rate on federal college loans is 3.4%.

In July, it will double to almost 7% and only Congress can stop it.
The average loan debt for students graduating from a Nebraska College is a whopping $24,500. That’s more than some graduates will earn at their first job.
It’s a big number. More than 50,000 students from Nebraska College campuses count on loans.
UNO Junior, Phillip Jessop is already $40,000 in debt and working part-time to pay his bills.
“I’d highly consider looking if I want to get more loans or not or maybe go out and get a second or third job just to pay for my tuition,” says Jessop.
President Obama is visiting college campuses this week pressuring congress to keep loan interest rates low.
“Americans now owe more on their student loans then they do on their credit cards,” says Pres. Obama.
The president is looking for way to win the student vote this November.
Students at the University of North Carolina, seemed surprised to learn even the Obama have had big loans to pay off.
“We only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago,” says Pres. Obama.
In her first year, freshman Bre Grooters has already taken out $5,500 in college loans. If she has to pay more in interest, she says she will.
“School is important enough for me that I would still go to school but it would definitely make it a lot harder to pay it back and use to everything,” says Grooters.
This is one economic issue Pres. Obama and Mitt Romney actually agree on. Romney supports the lower loan rate.