TRENTON – Three months after Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal led a multi-state coalition in urging the federal government to forgive the student loans of totally and permanently disabled military veterans, the White House announced that President Trump had signed a presidential memorandum directing the Department of Education (DOE) to do just that.

“The President and I don’t agree very often, but I’m glad to see he’s made the right decision to stand up for our nation’s veterans,” said Attorney General Grewal. “I’m pleased the President has instructed the Department of Education to expedite student debt relief for our military veterans who put their lives on the line for their country, and are now disabled due to their service.” 

Last year, DOE identified more than 42,000 veterans as eligible for student loan relief due to a service-related total and permanent disability, a bipartisan coalition led by Attorney General Grewal noted in a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

Fewer than 9,000 of those veterans had applied to have their loans discharged by April 2018, however, and more than 25,000 had student loans in default.

Today, the White House provided updated numbers, acknowledging that only half of the roughly 50,000 disabled veterans who are known to be qualified for loan forgiveness have received that benefit.

The letter, which Attorney General Grewal led with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, called on DOE to develop a process to automatically discharge the student loans of veterans determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be eligible for such relief.

While the automatic discharge process was in development, the letter proposed, DOE should halt debt collection efforts targeting disabled veterans, and clear their credit reports of any negative reporting related to their student loans.

In an interview with CNN’s New Day shortly after Memorial Day 2019, Attorney General Grewal described DOE’s policy as “unconscionable” and called on the Administration to change course.

Under federal law, DOE is required to discharge the federal student loans of veterans determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be unemployable (or totally and permanently disabled) due to a service-connected condition. Although DOE was requiring disabled veterans to take affirmative steps to apply for such a loan discharge, those steps were not required by law.

The multi-state coalition position led by Attorney General Grewal received support from enough Attorneys General to become formal policy of the National Association of Attorneys General.  (The designation is reserved for letters and comments supported by at least 36 Attorneys General.)

Veterans groups supporting the coalition effort included: Vietnam Veterans for America, Veterans Education Success, The Retired Enlisted Association, High Ground Advocacy, and Ivy League Veterans Council.

“All Americans should agree that these veterans do not deserve to be saddled with student loan debt,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Today’s action by the President is the least our country can do to honor our veterans’ service, and it’s about time.”

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