WKBN – In less than three weeks, the interest rate on subsidized loans is expected to double, affecting thousands of college students in the Mahoning Valley.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is one of a number of legislators proposing extending a freeze originally passed by President George W. Bush and Congress in 2007. The bill would keep the rate at its current 3.4 percent. Without action, that number will double next month to 6.8 percent.

“We wanna continue that freeze,” said Brown. “We know the average Ohio four-year graduate has borrowed money, has a $27,000 debt when they get out of school. That makes them less likely to buy a Chevy Cruze, less likely to buy a house, less likely to start a family.”

Around 10,000 college students in the Valley could pay a thousand dollars more on their student loans for each year Congress fails to act.