By Ramond Curtis

Here are some of the steps we’ve taking to serve you as we work hard to protect your rights during the crisis caused by COVID-19:

  • You won’t face any change in your GI Bill housing allowance or tuition thanks to a new law we proposed that passed Congress in March and was signed by the President.
  • If you have student loans:  Your federal student loan payments are automatically suspended and the interest rate is set to 0% until September 30, 2020 under the CARES Act here.  If you have private student loans, you can ask your “loan servicer” to work with you or ask us for free help.
  • We’re working to protect your GI Bill work study money: The House passed our bill to make sure GI Bill students get to keep their work study money regardless of moving learning online. We’re still waiting on Senate action and are urging them to pass it ASAP.
  • If you owe VA a debt, you can request a temporary collection suspension, hardship refund of offsets, or an extended repayment plan. Call 1-800-827-0648 at VA. More info here.  We have been fighting hard on this.

Have you applied for “Borrower Defense” on your federal student loans?  If not, our free lawyers can help you apply.  Anyone who was deceived by their college is entitled to loan relief.  Last week, a federal court forced the Education Department to start processing Borrower Defense claims, some of which have been pending for years – including some of you!  You should start to see action on those claims at last!  Learn more here.

Our free lawyers are here to help. Call 1-202-838-5050 or email [email protected].

If you want to get involved in any of these efforts and to share your story, please reach out to me at [email protected].

These are turbulent, chaotic times. If you find yourself in crisis, please:

  • Get help from the VA Crisis Line:  Dial 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 to talk to someone. Or text 838255.  Or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
  • Take a self-check quiz at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Quiz to learn whether stress and depression might be affecting you.

You are not alone! We’ll get through this together.

Ramond Curtis is State Policy Manager at Veterans Education Success