Earlier today, the Department of Education announced a significant policy shift that will automate loan discharges for borrowers with total and permanent disability through a data match with the Social Security Administration. This move will provide debt relief in the amount of $5.8 billion for about 323,000 borrowers and is modeled after the Department’s successful data-matching program with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The following statement can be attributed to Barmak Nassirian, Vice President for Higher Education Policy of Veterans Education Success:
Veterans Education Success is grateful to the Department of Education for ensuring severely disabled borrowers have their federal student loans discharged. We have long advocated for automating this process and believe the Department’s approach is excellent news for disabled borrowers, particularly disabled veterans who did not receive a rating of a service-connected disability.
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