UNITED STATES
US Federal lawmakers are demanding that the Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos (pictured) hand over more information on her Department’s flawed handling of the controversial Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
Colorado Democrat, Jared Polis is a spokesperson for the Members of Congress who are believed to number around 150.
Mr Polis said the PSLF had been relied on by everyone from teachers and firefighters to rural veterinarians.
The request for information follows the release of a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which has revealed that 99.6 per cent of PSLF applicants had been denied loan forgiveness, despite fulfilling all the original requirements.
The report also showed the Department had neglected to provide clear guidance and instructions to loan servicers, leaving them in the dark about which employers qualified and without detailed, accurate information regarding their loan payments.
The scheme was established in 2007 and required university graduates to work in low-paid Public Service jobs and to make monthly payments on their loans for 10 years, after which the rest of the loan would be forgiven.
Problems came to light after the first tranche of applicants became eligible last year.
Mr Polis said previous requests to Ms DeVos to improve PSLF had been ignored, and the Administration of President, Donald Trump had even proposed eliminating the program entirely, leaving tens of thousands of graduates in the system in limbo.
“Consumer advocates, State regulators, Members of Congress, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the GAO have all repeatedly raised alarms about the Department’s handling of the PSLF program,” Mr Polis said.
“We are deeply troubled that millions of dedicated Public Servants may not obtain the loan forgiveness that they deserve if the Department does not act quickly to correct program implementation issues.”
He said Members of Congress had also requested a timeline for implementing recommendations made in the GAO report and a copy of the Department’s corrective action plan.
Washington, DC, 20 October 2018
