HR 5 recently passed by Congress will require interest rates on need-based student loans to be cut from 6.8% to 3.4% by 2012. At best this is a first step in reforming current higher education costs which all agree are out of control. Few students graduate from college without some college debt. Instead of buying a new car upon getting that first job, college graduates typically have between $500 and $1000 per month in student loans to repay…for the next ten years! It’s no wonder more students still live at home and are getting married later and later. Taking this one step farther, fhe exhorbitant price paid for a college degree is not just affecting college students…its could be argued that is affecting other segments of the economy– the car market, housing market and more. It’s about time Congress brought higher education costs to the national stage.