The bill is cosponsored by members of the House Financial Services Committee.
2/24/2021 9:00
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., introduced legislation this month with the goal to extend federal student loan relief to borrowers with private loans for their education.
“In the CARES Act, Congress provided a six-month pause of federal student loan payments and interest accruements, which President Biden extended through September 2021. However, there are millions of student borrowers with privately-held federal loans or private loans that are not eligible for this relief,” according to a news release from Kildee’s office. Kildee is chief deputy whip of the House Democratic Caucus.
The bill, the Lenders Offer Assistance Now (LOAN) Act, H.R. 1143, would:
- Permit borrowers to discharge private and federal education loans in bankruptcy;
- Require private student loan lenders to discharge a loan if the student experiences a total and permanent disability; and
- Prohibit private educational lenders from accelerating repayment upon the disability of a co-signer.
In addition to Kildee, U.S. Reps. André Carson, D-Ind., Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-District of Columbia, Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., and Juan Vargas, D-Calif., are cosponsors of the LOAN Act.
The bill was referred to the House Financial Services Committee, where Vargas, Dean and Perlmutter are members.
State Attorneys General Call for Federal Student Loan Forgiveness
In other news, 17 state attorneys general sent a letter to the Biden administration asking the president to use executive actions to “cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt for all federal student loan borrowers.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey are leading the effort and say the president has the authority to cancel the debt under the Higher Education Act, according to the letter.
The Hill reports Biden has said he would cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt, but not as much as $50,000.
Meanwhile, the moratorium on student loan payments and interest remains in place until at least Sept. 30, 2021, ACA International previously reported.