The attorneys general of 51 states and territories on Friday asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to stop requiring that disabled veterans fill out paperwork to become eligible for federal student loan forgiveness. Instead, they want DeVos to exercise her power to automatically cancel the debt.
Veterans who are “totally and permanently” disabled are entitled under federal law to have their student loans canceled, but the Trump administration’s current process for doing so is “inadequate,” the bipartisan group of attorneys general wrote in a letter to DeVos.
The Education Department “continues to require eligible veterans to take affirmative steps to secure the loan forgiveness that is their statutory right,” the attorneys general wrote. They added that such requirements “may prove insurmountable obstacles to relief for many eligible veterans due to the severe nature of their disabilities.”
The letter was signed by the attorneys general of 47 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The only attorneys general who didn't sign represent Alabama, Arizona and Texas.
