OPINION	Vindy Basic

Star Tribune, Minneapolis: If a college education hasn't already turned this year's grads into cynics, Congress is considering a proposal that should do the trick: Just as student loan interest rates hit an all-time low, key lawmakers want to deny new graduates the opportunity to lock in today's low rates through loan consolidation.

Instead, leading Republicans and a few Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce propose that federally guaranteed student loans be consolidated only on a variable-rate basis.

Higher education trend

Making the grads pay more would be in keeping with the last quarter-century's U.S. policy trend in higher education financing. Congress has abandoned grants for all but the neediest students, even as the states have pulled back on support for public colleges and universities.

As a result, debt has become the American way to pay for college.

Whether the real goal is more money for the military, the lenders or needy college students, the way to get it should not be to add to the repayment cost of student loans.