Peter Stynoski, a sophomore in Engineering, is up to his ears in debt.

After being rejected for a federal loan, he applied for a private one at a 14 percent interest rate.

By the time Stynoski graduates, he will owe around $120,000.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sees this as part of a larger problem involving the government’s role in higher education as a whole, including loans on interest rates and educational grants at the federal level.

The senator was on campus Friday in the Pine Lounge of the Illini Union to discuss legislation which he and fellow Democratic senators introduced that would, among other things, cut interest rates in half on student loans dispersed via the government.

This change would apply to all Stafford loans and parent loans, which have interest rates that presently stand at 6.8 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

Other changes proposed in the legislation include increasing the maximum Pell Grant award from $4,050 to $4,500 in 2007 to help students like Stynoski who did not qualify for federal loans.

A federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid.

Generally, Pell Grants are awarded only to undergraduate students who have not yet earned a bachelor’s or professional degree, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Under this new legislation, the Pell grant would be a mandatory spending program, which would assure students that the grant would be fully-funded from year to year.

Sen. Durbin expects the legislation, titled Reverse the Raid on Student Aid Act of 2006, to face a holdup in Congress.

“It isn’t going to pass this year,” said Sen. Durbin who also said he believes a new Congress after midterm elections will be necessary to approve the legislation.

Dan Mann, director of the office of financial aid at the University, is optimistic about the legislation.

“I’m very hopeful that it will pass,” said Mann who pointed out that over 76 percent of students at the University receive financial aid of some sort.

Durbin was critical of the Bush administration for signing legislation on July 1 that raised interest rates for students and the Republican-led Congress who he says cut $12 billion out of the federal student aid programs.

During the senator’s hour-long appearance, he also discussed the Iraq war, use of torture by the United States government abroad and the recent comments Donald Rumsfeld made comparing those critical of the Iraq war to those who appeased the Nazis before and during World War II.

Durbin said that Friday morning he sent a letter along with fellow congressmen to President Bush asking for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, citing mismanagement of the war in Iraq.

The “spend rate is $3 billion a week,” said Sen. Durbin, referring to the cost of the Iraq war while pointing out that federal student aid has ironically suffered as defense spending has soared.

After the senator’s formal speech ended, he visited with students and faculty discussing his proposed legislation.

“Students are looking at loans they’ll be paying back in their 50s,” Durbin said as a crowd massed around him.

That rings all too true for Stynoski who, after shopping around, found a different loan that carried with it a slightly lower interest rate.

“It only costs a person $25,000 to live,” said Stynoski. “I’ll be able to live like a normal person and pay off my loans,” he said, banking on what he hopes will be a substantial beginner’s salary for an engineer.