President Barack Obama canvassed the country last week, visiting colleges and drawing attention to the woes caused by student debt. It's a calculated move to drum up support among young voters who aren't quite as eager about the president as they were four years ago. He's also calling on Congress to prevent federal student loan interest rates from doubling later this year for some borrowers. But what Congress should consider is getting out of the student loan business altogether.

Just consider the repercussions of government involvement in home loans. That should give us all pause.

But Obama and other Democrats are finding it more politically convenient to appeal to voters' pocketbooks than consider the financial stability of the country. The president even made an appearance last week on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," where he "slow jammed" the facts of student loans. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has also supported keeping the federal interest rates at 3.4 percent for the subsidized Stafford loans. Without congressional intervention, they'd rise to 6.8 percent this summer, affecting around 7 million undergraduates.

Some in Congress have suggested a more moderate compromise. U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., supports a bill introduced by a fellow Republican that would keep the federal student loan interest rate at the lower rate for a year, while ensuring it is paid for by other spending cuts. That likely won't fly with Democrats.

Groups like the Heritage Foundation have pointed out the government's involvement in student loans is another example of federal overreach — and one that is largely to blame for current problems. Lindsey Burke, an expert in education policy at Heritage, says the Obama administration ultimately staged a takeover of the student loan industry through a provision attached to Obamacare. This provision ended federal subsidies to private lenders and put the government in full control of issuing and servicing federal student loans. The availability of student loans has fueled higher tuition as schools simply raise prices to match the availability of loan revenue.

Student debt continues to burgeon — now totaling more than $860 billion, which is more than Americans owe on auto loans and credit card debt. Even though costs of college are rising fast, most new debt isn't because individual students are borrowing more. It's a result of more students heading to college.

It's fairly easy for most students to tap into federal loans. That ease raises the possibility that some will probably never pay back their debt, leaving taxpayers on the hook. In 2007, Congress cut the rate on federal student loans, making it artificially low the past four years. Low interest rates are appealing, but making loans too readily available will lead to more debt default.

That's something the U.S. can't afford. Congress should not risk allowing student loans to become the next debt bubble.

REPRINTED FROM THE DETROIT NEWS