If a new Democrat-sponsored bill becomes law, holders of student loans would pay less in interest. The College Student Relief Act of 2007 (HR 5), introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-California) with 211 cosponsors, would modify the Higher Education Act of 1965 by cutting in half the fixed interest rates on need-based Stafford loans for undergraduates over a five-year period. The bill passed the House on January 17. Interest rates would be cut according to the following schedule:
| Date of loan disbursement | Fixed interest rate |
| 7/1/06 – 6/30/07 | 6.80% |
| 7/1/07 – 6/30/08 | 6.12% |
| 7/1/08 – 6/30/09 | 5.44% |
| 7/1/09 – 6/30/10 | 4.76% |
| 7/1/10 – 6/30/11 | 4.08% |
| 7/1/11 – 6/30/12 | 3.40% |
After June 30, 2012, the interest rate would in all probability revert back to the 6.80% fixed rate.
