Sen. Brown joined students from Owens Community College to call for passage of his bill that would maintain the current interest rate, which is set at 3.4 percent, and prevent a hike to 6.8 percent scheduled for July 1st. More than 382,000 students across Ohio—including 25,000 in Lucas County alone—would be forced to pay significantly more for their student loans unless Congress passes legislation to block the interest rate from doubling on federally-subsidized Stafford loans.