Left Out of the Stimulus – Inside Higher Ed
Consumer groups are questioning why some student loan borrowers will not get help from the stimulus package about to be passed by Congress.
Although help for student borrowers in Congress’s massive economic stimulus package has been widely publicized, including a six-month reprieve from making loan payments, more than a million people with loans may be surprised to learn they will not get any relief under the new measure.
Borrowers with Perkins and commercially held Federal Family Education Loans are excluded from the $2 trillion bill, which is expected to pass the U.S. House today after being approved by the Senate Wednesday.
As higher education policy experts pored over the bill over the last few days, several consumer groups said the next relief Congress takes up should include those who won’t be reaping new benefits, including a waiver of federal interest on student loans and a moratorium on having overdue payments taken from wages, tax refunds and Social Security benefits, as well as temporarily being excused from making monthly payments.