CORNWALL – New college student loan benefits that were approved by the last Congress and signed by former President Bush, took effect on Wednesday and Congressman John Hall outlined them at a Cornwall High School news conference.

The law lowers interest rates on college loans, said Hall. “Any loan taken out today or later will have an interest rate of 5.6 percent, which is down from the 6.8 percent it was in June of last year,” he said. The rate will continue to go down until it is at 3.4 percent for loans taken out on July 1, 2011 or later, Hall said.

The new law also increases the amount of Pell grants for qualifying college students.