This July, the U.S. Education Department plans to forgive hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding loan debt for roughly 25,000 disabled veterans, reports Inside Higher Ed. However, consumer and veterans' groups are seeking more relief.
Due to an executive order by President Trump, 25,000 borrowers will have their loans automatically discharged in July, without having to submit an application—previously a hurdle for veterans who might not know about the program or, due to their injury, not be capable of doing so.
However, some also want the agency to forgive the student loans of nearly 400,000 other borrowers who are also too disabled to work but do not qualify for the relief because they either are not veterans or because their injuries were not service related, Inside Higher Ed reported.
"We are disappointed that the interim final regulations only extend the automatic discharge system to a small subset of [disabled] borrowers," stated the National Consumer Law Center and two other consumer groups. "Like veterans, many Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who qualify for loan cancellation are simply unaware of the discharge program. According to the NPR report, only one-third of matched eligible borrowers had even applied for loan discharge."
A department spokesperson declined to comment on the article, Inside Higher Ed reported.
Related Link
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/04/more-student-loan-forgiveness-sought-disabled-borrowers