Fox News Highlights Successful Bipartisan Push Led by Senators Hassan & Rubio to Expedite Student Loan Forgiveness for Service Members
WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, Fox News highlighted successful bipartisan efforts led by Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) to push the Department of Education to ensure that more service members can utilize the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
See below for excerpts from Fox News or click here to see the full article.
By Kyle Morris
Following an unusual bipartisan effort by Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., the Department of Education announced Wednesday it had reformed its Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to allow service members to receive their earned loan forgiveness more quickly.
"Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced an overhaul of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program that it will implement over the next year to make the program live up to its promise," said the Education Department in a statement. "This policy will result in 22,000 borrowers who have consolidated loans—including previously ineligible loans—being immediately eligible for $1.74 billion in forgiveness without the need for further action on their part."
Prior to changes, service members who paused their student loan payments while they were deployed or on extended active duty orders could not count that time period toward their student loan forgiveness.
Earlier this year, Hassan and Rubio introduced a bill, named the Recognizing Military Service in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Act, allowing service members who placed their federal student loans in deferment or forbearance during periods of active duty service to count those months toward their Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
"Student loans should never be a deterrent for entering into public service, including the military," Hassan said. "This is a commonsense fix that will support public servants and ensure that they are able to give back without the worry of student debt." […]
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