Title
Calling on the U.S. Department of Education to resolve bureaucratic errors within the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program which have led to the exclusion of qualified veterans and other public servants.
Body
WHEREAS, The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was created in 2007 to encourage the country's best and brightest to fill critical positions in the public sector; and
WHEREAS, Under the program, those employed in select public service positions - such as teachers and those serving in the armed forces - would be eligible for debt cancellation after a decade of payments; and
WHEREAS, Since its adoption, however, it is reported that 98 percent of applicants have been deemed ineligible by the U.S. Department of Education; and
WHEREAS, Those that serve our Nation in public service positions - particularly those that risk their safety serving in the armed forces - should not be required to jump through bureaucratic hoops and red tape to receive their entitled benefits; and
WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), of the nearly 180,000 active-duty service-members with federal student loans, only 124 individuals have qualified for relief under the PSLF program; and
WHEREAS, In a recent 60 Minutes report, veterans shared their personal experiences navigating the PSLF program; and
WHEREAS, Army JAG Major Heather Tregle, chief of complex litigation for the Army's prosecutors, was told that her six months of active duty service in Afghanistan was not being counted toward her period of service, and that some of her payments were deemed ineligible due to an auto-payment error that left her cents short of the qualified monthly payment; and
WHEREAS, In another case, Army JAG Lt. Colonel Jonathan Hirsch made on-time payments for a decade before receiving a letter stating none of his loan payments qualified for forgiveness under the PSLF program; and
WHEREAS, There is an appeal process, but it can...
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