More than 33,000 disabled veterans with unpaid federal student loans could possibly be granted debt relief under the new Federally Requiring Earned Education-Debt Discharges for Veterans Act (FREED Vets Act) proposed last week.
According to an article published by Military Times, “The proposal follows moves by the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs last year to alert more veterans about debt forgiveness programs for 100-percent disabled veterans. More than 42,000 individuals nationwide are eligible for the aid, potentially dropping tens of thousands of owed dollars from their financial records. But despite a push from the agencies, only about 20 percent of the eligible pool of veterans has taken advantage of the program. And more than half of those veterans have already defaulted on their federal loans, creating additional financial problems.”
This new bipartisan legislation would erase all student loan debt for eligible veterans, regardless of whether they applied for the program or not. Rep. Connor Lamb, D-Pa. (a supporter of the bill) said in a statement, “Congress has an obligation to ease the challenges our veterans face when they come home and return to civilian life…This important bipartisan legislation provides a clear pathway for eligible disabled veterans to receive a benefit they have earned through their service and sacrifice.”
No timeline has been set for when lawmakers may vote on the measure but both would have to approve the act before it could be sent to the White House to become law. Veterans who think they may be eligible for the debt forgiveness program can visit the Department of Education web site for more information.
For more information on the Federally Requiring Earned Education-Debt Discharges for Veterans Act (FREED Vets Act), click HERE.
Relevant pages: Veterans Disability