Coronavirus Latest: Attorney General Frosh Seeks Emergency Relief For Federal Student Loan Borrowers
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh joined a coalition of 27 attorneys general calling on the U.S. Department of Education to provide federal student loan borrowers with emergency measures to help in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, the coalition asks the Department of Education to take specific steps to protect borrowers from further financial burden and debt collection due to job losses and lost wages resulting from a rise in national unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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In a news release, Frosh said:
"During this unprecedented crisis, the federal government must do everything in its power to help those struggling with unemployment. The Department of Education has the authority to help Americans who are struggling with crippling debt burdens; the small changes they have made are not enough."
The letter notes that while the federal government has already taken a series of initial steps to help student loan borrowers—including ceasing some collection actions—the ED must do more.
The coalition's letter urges the ED to extend this emergency relief to all federal student loan borrowers, including borrowers those whose Federal Family Education Loans or Federal Perkins loans are not held by the Department.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.