Iowa State students could soon have less time to pay off student loans, Dave Schrader, Iowa House minority leader said.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have proposed a plan to balance the federal budget through cuts in many federal programs, including student loans.

The proposed plan would require students to begin paying interest on their Stafford Loans immediately following graduation. Currently, recipients are allowed a six-month grace period before the interest starts accruing.

“I don’t think [the grace period] is unreasonable,” Schrader said. “Graduates must have some time to make the switch.”

The average college graduate has $7,000 in loans.

Schrader, a Democrat, said the proposed plan would increase loan costs by 1 percent for each new recipient and cut subsidies for graduate students.

But John Easton, press secretary for Iowa Congressman Greg Ganske, a Republican, said he is not aware of any loan cost increases. In fact, Easton said the new plan will “make education more efficient. We’re trying to do more for students with less.

“The new budget resolution provides for more loans to be available next year,” Easton said. He said the maximum amount of interest due for each loan recipient after graduation would be no more than $9 per month.

Schrader said he is “scared” about the futures of college-bound students. As an Iowa state representative, Schrader said, he will not have an opportunity to vote on the proposal, but he “has a major stake in the issue” as a parent of a high school senior.

Schrader, a middle-income parent, said he wonders “how the heck are we going to pay for it?”

Roberta Johnson, assistant director of student loans in ISU’s Student Financial Aid office, said the proposal “will impact students very negatively.”

John Kiernan, former member of United Students of Iowa, a student lobbying group, also said the proposal will hurt ISU students.

“It’s hard enough already for graduates to pay back their loans,” Kiernan said. “This will jack it up that much more.”

But the GOP goal of balancing the federal budget in seven years hinges on spending cuts “across the board,” Easton said, and the Republican-proposed spending freeze will include all federal programs.

“More than anything else, balancing the budget will help put money back in the pockets of working people,” Easton said.

Schrader said that while he feels balancing the budget is important, President Clinton’s proposal for balancing the budget in 10 years is more reasonable.

“The President is doing more for education, not less,” he said.