20120810+BW+blog
I commented on the Proposed Rule:Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (ED-2012-OPE-0010-0001) at www.regulations.gov http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=ED-2012-OPE-0010-0001
As a student loan borrower, I support the Department's efforts to make Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) more accessible and helpful to borrowers, especially as this means simplifying the process of discharging loans in cases of total and permanent disability (TPD). Short of an complete and responsible solution, such as bail-out funds directed to tax-payers rather than multinational banks, the proposed regulations implementing the "Pay As You Earn" repayment plan is an excellent next step, in that it lowers monthly payments and can lead to earlier loan forgiveness than IBR currently provides. The proposed rules must go further to ensure that these programs work better for borrowers. I urge you to make the following changes:
- Reduce the extreme and disproportionate penalty for late paperwork.
- Count qualifying payments made before and after consolidation towards forgiveness.
- Ensure borrowers can exit IBR to enter a different repayment plan without prohibitive penalty.
- Accept Social Security Administration (SSA) disability determinations for loan discharges.
Appreciating your work and looking forward to these changes becoming law,
Brandon Williamscraig
Everybody,
Please consider using similar language to help this intervention on behalf of borrowers move forward.
Also see http://www.ibrinfo.org/action_alert_8912_2.vp.html