Attorneys general in 47 states and four U.S. territories have requested that the Department of Education change current procedures so that student loan debt for individuals who are disabled while in service of the United States military will automatically have their debt discharged.
In 2018, the Department of Education matched student loan records with disability records from the Department of Veterans Affairs and discovered 42,000 veterans were eligible to have their loans discharged in full or to receive some other loan forgiveness. The Education Department sent letters to the veterans along with instructions for completing the necessary application, which must be mailed back to the department.
"Because America’s veterans deserve better, we ask the Department to develop an automatic discharge process to ensure that all eligible veterans can have their student loans forgiven." "While ‘automatic discharge’ may seem like a simple solution, there are long-term impacts we want all veterans to have the chance to consider before their loans are discharged,” Department of Education spokesperson Elizabeth Hill said in a statement.
Politico cites a report from Georgetown Law professor John Brooks whose study in 2018 determined that veterans residing in 41 states and the District of Columbia would not owe taxes on discharged loans in their respective states.
Imperative
The appeal will go unheeded because the cruelty is the point.
50 States appeal for BetsyDeVosED to resign immediately!
We need to appeal to her to ResignNow
Not a good move due to the slippery slope it will create, however something should be done in it's stead.