Ohio AG joins coalition calling for disabled veterans' student loan forgiveness

May 24-- May 24--Attorney General Dave Yost has joined with 51 other attorney generals in the bipartisan coalition in writing a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) urging them to forgive the student loans of veterans who became totally and permanently disabled in connection with their military service.

"There is nothing our nation could possibly do for these brave men and women that is ever going to be repayment enough," Yost said. "This is one area in which we can guarantee them the relief they so richly deserve and that they already are entitled to under the law."

The letter calls on DOE to develop a process to automatically discharge the student loans of veterans determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be eligible for such relief. While the process is in development, the letter proposes DOE should stop debt collection efforts targeting disabled veterans and clear their credit reports of any negative reporting related to their student loans.

According to the letter, an automatic discharge process that gives individual veterans an opportunity to opt out for personal reasons "would eliminate unnecessary paperwork burdens and ensure that all eligible disabled veterans can receive a discharge."

The letter closes by urging DOE to "take action to better protect those who once protected the nation. Our veterans deserve nothing less."

Thank you for reading the Dayton Daily News and for supporting local journalism. Subscribers: log in for access to exclusive deals and newsletters.

___

(c)2019 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio)

Visit the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) at www.daytondailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.