Trump signs order discharging student loan debt for some veterans News
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Trump signs order discharging student loan debt for some veterans

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order discharging federal student loan debt for totally and permanently disabled veterans.

The order seeks to alter the Higher Education Act of 1965 and its 2008 amendment, which already discharged federal student loans for this group of veterans. Previously though, disabled veterans were required to submit applications to the Secretary of Education with proof of their disabilities to opt-in to the program. Because of this opt-in style program, approximately 25,000 qualifying veterans had not made use of the available benefits.

The order intends to address this by requiring various federal agencies to create quick and minimally burdensome processes to discharge federal student loans for all qualifying veterans.

Veterans are heavily courted by for-profit colleges that offer less valuable degrees. The poor cost-benefit exchange of these colleges results in higher than average loan default rates among its student population. Applicable debt liabilities that can be discharged under the Higher Education Act include the Federal Family Education Loan Program loans, Federal Direct loans and Federal Perkins loans.

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