Our Comment on the New TPD Computer Matching Agreement between the Education Department and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
May 28, 2021 U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid 830 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20202-5320 Attn: Brenda Vigna, Division Chief Dear Ms. Vigna: We are providing comments on the [...]
MSO/VSO Letter Supporting the Expansion of the MLA to All Americans in the 117th Congress
May 21, 2021 The Honorable Sherrod Brown, Chairman Senate Committee on Banking SD-534 Dirksen Senate Office Committee Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Jack Reed Senate Committee on Banking SD-534 Dirksen Senate Office Committee [...]
Our Letter to DoD & ED Asking Them to Improve PSLF
May 7, 2021 The Honorable Miguel Cardona Secretary of Education Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue SW Washington, DC 20202 Secretary Lloyd Austin US Department of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000 [...]
Our Letter to Congress Asking Them to Update FTC’s 13(b) Enforcement Tools
April 26, 2021 The Honorable Maria Cantwell, Chair The Honorable Roger Wicker, Ranking Member Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr. Chairman The Honorable Cathy McMorris [...]
Our Letter to Congress to Overturn the OCC’s True Lender Rule
April 29, 2021 The Honorable Sherrod Brown, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Room SD-534 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Patrick J. Toomey, Ranking Member, [...]
GAO: 94% of PSLF Applicants Employed By DoD Have Been Denied; 124 Active Duty Servicemembers Have Earned Loan Forgiveness
Public Service Loan Forgiveness: DOD and Its Personnel Could Benefit from Additional Program Information The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is intended to encourage people to enter public service. It forgives the federal student loan [...]
Our Article in the Personal Finance section of Military.com: “Service Members and Veterans: Beware of Paycheck Advance Apps and Easy ‘Credit'”
23 Mar 2021 Military.com | By Mike Saunders Service members and veterans need to be wary of new forms of credit-like products that have popped up in recent years, especially "paycheck advance" products and Income Share Agreements. [...]
Letter of Support from Veterans Groups for Rohit Chopra to Head Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
February 10, 2021 The Honorable Sherrod Brown, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Room SD-534 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Patrick J. Toomey, Ranking Member, [...]
MSO/VSO Letter Supporting the Reinstatement of Supervisory Exams for Military Lending Act Compliance
January 27, 2021 President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear President Biden: The undersigned military and veterans service organizations represent millions of current and former servicemembers, [...]
Our Public Comment to the OCC about “Fair Access to Financial Services”
January 4, 2021 Chief Counsel’s Office Comment Processing Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 400 7th Street SW, Suite 3E-218 Washington, DC 20219 Re: Proposed “Fair Access to Financial Services,” Docket ID [...]
Our Public Comment About the Role of Supervisory Guidance to CFPB
January 4, 2021 Director Kathleen Kraninger Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1700 G Street NW Washington, DC 20552 Re: Role of Supervisory Guidance, Docket No. CFPB-2020-0033 or RIN 3170-AB02 Dear Director Kraninger: [...]
Military.com: Act Now So You Don’t Fall Off the Student Loan Cliff on September 30, 2021
On January 21, 2021 President Biden directed the Education Department to pause payments and interest on all federally-held student loans until September 30, 2021. Read more about it here. This blog was originally posted [...]
Why Are So Many of Our Military Members Missing Out on Student Loan Forgiveness?
Originally posted here By Mike Saunders and Seth Frotman | November 11, 2020 In 2017, the CFPB reported that 200,000 servicemembers owe nearly $3 billion in federal student loan debt. As this debt looms over the lives [...]
Report: Protecting Military Borrowers: How the Department of Education Can Restore the Promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness for American Servicemembers
Introduction Policymakers have long acknowledged that financial readiness is intrinsic to military readiness and that the unique financial stress imposed by military life can impede America’s national security. In fact, Congress has repeatedly taken steps [...]
Military.com: Here’s Why Vets Need to Avoid Predatory Lenders More Than Ever
This article was originally published by Military.com on August 21, 2020. Here's Why Vets Need to Avoid Predatory Lenders More Than Ever Mike Saunders is a U.S. Army veteran and director of military and consumer [...]
Our Comment on Time-Barred (“Zombie”) Debt Collection
August 4, 2020 Director Kathleen Kraninger Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1700 G Street NW Washington, DC 20552 Re: Proposed Time-Barred Debt Disclosures, Docket No. CFPB-2020-0010 or RIN 3170-AA41 Dear Director Kraninger: [...]
VSO-MSO Letter to Congress About COVID Legislation and Veterans Issues
June 3, 2020 The Honorable Jerry Moran, Chairman The Honorable Jon Tester, Ranking Member [...]
Military.com: What Veterans Need to Know About Federal Debts During the Coronavirus Pandemic
This article was originally published by Military.com on May 14, 2020. What Veterans Need to Know About Federal Debts During the Coronavirus Pandemic Mike Saunders is a U.S. Army veteran and director of military and [...]
Advocates and Veterans Groups Urge Financial Institutions to Follow Military Consumer Protection Law During Covid-19 Mobilizations
On Friday, May 1 the Student Borrower Protection Center, Student Veterans of America, Veterans Education Success, and over a dozen national military and veteran service organizations sent letters to the nation’s major financial institutions urging [...]
Press Release: Advocates and Veterans Groups Urge Financial Institutions to Follow Military Consumer Protection Law During Covid-19 Mobilizations
Advocates and Veterans Groups Urge Financial Institutions to Follow Military Consumer Protection Law During Covid-19 Mobilizations Financial Companies’ Track Record of Servicemember Violations Warrants Enhanced Protections Amid Pandemic May 1, 2020 | WASHINGTON, DC — [...]
What Military-Connected Students Need to Know During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Mike Saunders is a U.S. Army Veteran and Director of Military & Consumer Policy at Veterans Education Success. Tanya Ang is Vice President of Veterans Education Success and has worked in higher education supporting military-connected [...]
Education Department’s FOIA Response on Total and Permanent Disability Student Loan Discharge
The Education Department's response to a FOIA request regarding how many student loan discharges it has provided for totally and permanently disabled borrowers.
University to pay nearly $5 million to US government for role in veterans’ education scam
A private university in New Jersey has been ordered to pay the United States government almost $5 million to settle allegations that it defrauded the Department of Veterans Affairs by massively overcharging veterans for substandard online courses. [...]
MSO-VSO Letter Supporting MLA Expansion
November 15, 2019 The Honorable Mike Crapo, Chair Senate Committee on Banking SD-534 Dirksen Senate Office Committee Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Sherrod Brown, Ranking Member Senate Committee on Banking SD-534 Dirksen Senate [...]
Stars & Stripes: Let Protect VETS Act teach for-profit schools a lesson
Let Protect VETS Act teach for-profit schools a lesson by Mike Saunders I’ve seen a lot during my years in the Army and now working in veterans’ organizations for the past decade. I thought I’d [...]
The Trump Administration Is Going to Automatically Forgive the Student Loans of Severely Disabled Veterans – What Does that Mean?
by Mike Saunders You may have heard that the Trump Administration is now going to automatically forgive the federal student loans of veterans who have a 100 percent disability rating or who have been designated [...]
The Military Lending Act and You
This post was originally published by Military.com on August 13, 2019. The Military Lending Act and You By Mike Saunders, Director for Military and Consumer Policy, Veterans Education Success As an active-duty service member, you [...]
Here are Some Surprising Ways Troops and Vets Can Cut Their Student Loan Debt
Note: This advice column was originally published by Military Times on February 19, 2019 and can be found here. By Mike Saunders, Director of Military & Consumer Policy | VES Hundreds of thousands of veterans, [...]
Letter to the Education Department Regarding Disabled Veterans Right to Loan Forgiveness
Letter from Veterans Education Success and other veterans and military organizations to the US Education Department requesting automatic loan forgiveness for disabled veterans.
Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette: Global Concern: Kaplan Roll-Out Exposes Un-Purdue-Like Actions
On its face, Purdue University's acquisition of Kaplan University can be good for students. Purdue, part of the Big Ten and a major research university, has long-standing traditions of academic excellence. One would expect they would impose [...]