House set to vote on student loan rate, plus more to watch for this weekend in politics

Phil Pruitt

The House is scheduled to vote Friday on a Republican-crafted bill that would keep interest rates down on federal loans used by millions of college students.

Republicans are for keeping the rate at 3.4 percent for Stafford loans instead of letting it rise as scheduled to 6.8 percent in July. Democrats also are for keeping the rate down. President Barack Obama is for keeping the rate down, and so is presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Still, it won't be smooth sailing Friday. The Republican plan would cover the $5.9 billion cost by taking money from a preventive health fund established in Obama's health care overhaul law, and Democrats don't like that. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calls the measure an "assault on women's health."

President Obama and First lady Michelle Obama visit Fort Stewart in Hinesville, Ga., on Friday. While there, Obama will sign an executive order making it harder for for-profit colleges and universities that market heavily to military families to misrepresent themselves.

Later in the day, the president will speak at the Women for Obama National Issues Conference back in Washington.

Romney will spend Friday campaigning in Ohio, a key battleground state in the general election, and Ron Paul holds a town hall meeting in Houston, Texas. Newt Gingrich still has North Carolina stops on his schedule, although he is officially dropping out of the race next week.

And then there is this: The White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner is Saturday evening. The president and first lady will attend the black-tie event, as will hundreds of journalists, including the Yahoo! News politics team, high-profile figures from the political arena, and celebrities from the entertainment and sports worlds.

Sources: Yahoo! News, ABC News, Associated Press

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