Today, Democrats opposed a Republican amendment that would help student loan borrowers with joint consolidation loans, including abuse victims, separate their loans immediately without creating a bureaucratic mess or expanding the federal government’s foothold on student loans.
Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia (R-NC), who offered the amendment, said on the House floor:
“The motion to commit amends the bill to establish a more efficient process for separating joint consolidation loans to ensure timely relief for borrowers, protect victims of abuse seeking to sever their financial entanglement with their abuser, and protect taxpayers by ensuring that the Secretary’s authority is narrowly tailored to help those in need.
“The amendment allows borrowers to separate their loans immediately rather than having to apply for a new loan in the direct loan program, a process that could take as long as 18 months to implement. Moreover, it ensures that those who are victims of economic or domestic abuse can split their loans without opening up avenues for their abuser to game the system and inflict further harm on those we are trying to help.
“This is a commonsense fix to a bill that all of us agree is well intended but falls short of ensuring adequate safeguards for borrowers. S. 1098 also fails to protect against the abuse of executive authority, something this administration has already proven it will happily do."
