FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Barmak Nassirian, VP for Higher Education Policy
Reaction: STUDENT VETERANS WILL BENEFIT FROM STEPS PROPOSED BY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2022 – Today, the Department of Education released proposed regulations related to a number of important provisions of the federal student loan program.
“The Department’s proposed regulations represent significant improvements over current rules for both student loan borrowers and taxpayers by providing appropriate relief to the former and by holding unscrupulous schools accountable for federal losses,” said Barmak Nassirian, Vice President for Higher Education Policy, Veterans Education Success, who has provided expertise to the Department over several decades on these student loan programs.
Today’s release is another step in the negotiated rulemaking process that began last summer and involved the Department convening a committee with interested stakeholders last fall that discussed these regulations. The proposed regulations address many areas of great interest to student veterans, such as:
- Borrower Defense to Repayment, which provides loan relief to student loan borrowers who have been defrauded by a college, as have many veterans;
- Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, which provides loan relief to 100% disabled people including military veterans;
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which provides loan relief to student loan borrowers who work in nonprofit jobs or government jobs including the military;
- False Certification, which provides loan relief to student loan borrowers who were falsely signed up for loans; and
- Closed School Discharge, which provides loan relief to student loan borrowers whose school suddenly shuttered.
Veterans organizations have advocated for years for improvements to these regulations, with many of the nation’s largest veterans organizations testifying at the negotiated rulemaking convened by the Department to develop these proposals. Dozens of student veterans also testified about their experience with these programs.
“We look forward to reviewing the proposed regulations in more detail and plan to submit suggestions for improvement,” Nassirian said. “We are hopeful these proposed regulations will be adopted and implemented swiftly following the public comment period.”
About Veterans Education Success
Veterans Education Success is a nonpartisan organization whose mission is to advance higher education success for veterans, service members, and military families, and to protect the integrity and promise of the GI Bill and other federal education programs. The organization offers free help, advice, and college and career counseling to servicemembers, veterans, and their survivors and families using federal education benefits, and helps them participate in their democracy by engaging with policymakers. Veterans Education Success also provides policy expertise to federal and state policymakers, and conducts non-partisan research on issues of concern to student veterans. Additional information is available at vetsedsuccess.org.
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