Military student loan repayment

Guardsmen called to active duty may receive student loan repayment delay

NGAUS is a member of the Military Coalition, (TMC), a consortium of 25 nationally prominent military and veterans organizations. TMC sent a letter to express its strong support and appreciation to Sen. Robert G. Torricelli, D-NJ., for introducing S. 1534 on Nov. 13,1997, which was referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources. The bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to delay the commencement of the student loan repayment period for certain students called to active duty in the armed forces.

Specifically, S.1534 provides that any period (up to three years) during which a borrower, who is a member a reserve component of the armed forces, is called or ordered to active duty (for more than 30 days) shall be excluded from the grace period (after the student ceases to carry at least a half-time academic load) before repayment of a student loan must begin. (Such grace period is six months for Stafford or Direct Stafford/Ford loans, and nine months for Perkins direct loans.)

Enactment of this legislation would remove a serious inequity for students in the National Guard and Reserve forces when they are called to extended active duty. It is patently unfair and inconsistent with the policy of increased reliance on the Reserve components to call up Guardsmen and Reservists to serve in harm's way in places like Bosnia and, at the same time "keep the clock running" on the 6-month grace period for repaying federal student loans, the NGAUS and other association in the coalition believe.

To date there are six co-sponsors on the bill, but Torricelli will require significantly more support within the Senate to have a chance at getting the bill out of committee. Encourage your senators today to sign on to S. 1534 as cosponsors. This legislation is an important retention tool for the Guard.