WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress are trying to overturn the Trump administration’s changes to a popular student loan forgiveness program, with lawmakers saying the changes are political and could leave some borrowers without the relief they were pledged.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program cancels loans for qualified public service workers after they’ve made a decade’s worth of payments. It has long been open to those who go to work for the government, public schools, fire and police departments, public hospitals and nonprofits. But last fall, President Donald Trump’s administration wrote a new rule that will empower Education Secretary Linda McMahon to kick employers out of the program if she decides their work has a “substantial illegal purpose.”
Set to take effect in July, the vaguely phrased rule is targeted at employers who support undocumented immigrants or transgender youth, potentially affecting borrowers who work at schools, public hospitals and legal aid groups.
On Tuesday, Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced a resolution to overturn the rule. A similar measure was brought forward in the House by another trio of Democrats: Joe Courtney of Connecticut, Alma Adams of North Carolina and Scott Peters of California. The lawmakers called the rule “a clear attempt to intimidate and punish certain organizations.”
Nicholas Kent, the Education Department’s higher education chief, equated the Democrats’ effort with “standing up for criminal activity.”
“This is a commonsense reform that will stop taxpayer dollars from subsidizing organizations involved in terrorism, child trafficking and child mutilation procedures that are doing irreversible harm to children,” Kent said in a statement. The rule, he said, will be enforced neutrally, “without consideration of the employer’s mission, ideology or the population they serve.”
While the Democrats’ measure may get a vote, it’s unlikely to pass.
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