{"id":35040,"date":"2018-05-11T22:31:54","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T22:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/11\/pentagon-loan-forgiveness-is-a-recruiting-tool-lawmakers-cut-it-anyway\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T06:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:58:29","slug":"pentagon-loan-forgiveness-is-a-recruiting-tool-lawmakers-cut-it-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/05\/11\/pentagon-loan-forgiveness-is-a-recruiting-tool-lawmakers-cut-it-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon: loan forgiveness is a recruiting tool. Lawmakers: cut it anyway."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Veteran education advocates are continuing to fight a controversial bill<\/a> that would sunset a student loan forgiveness benefit for public-sector employees, including service members, hoping their efforts \u2014 and the Pentagon\u2019s opposition \u2014 can keep it from ever getting to a vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a national security issue at this point, and that\u2019s highly concerning to us,\u201d said Tanya Ang, policy and outreach director for Veterans Education Success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nonprofit is one of many veteran service organizations that have opposed the legislation since it was first introduced by Republican House lawmakers late last year. Among their chief concerns with the PROSPER Act is its proposal to eliminate the public service loan forgiveness program for nonprofit workers and employees of local, state and federal agencies, including the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the opposition, the bill\u2019s proponents see PROSPER as a way to curb rising college costs and enable students to pursue careers without demonstrable student loan debt. A spokesman for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce told Military Times, \u201cWe have heard from many groups on provisions within the PROSPER Act, and believe the bill will provide veterans and active duty military the best opportunity to achieve a postsecondary education that they rightly deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Defense Department document released earlier this year states the loan forgiveness program, available to eligible borrowers after 10 years of qualifying student loan payments, is an \u201cimportant recruitment and retention tool for the military to compete with the civilian sector,\u201d particularly in specialty fields. The Navy has also raised concerns for the Navy Judge Advocate General\u2019s Corps, which leans on this program as an incentive for new recruits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House committee spokesman did not comment directly on the Pentagon\u2019s position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ang said, \u201cWhen you\u2019re dealing with issues as (loan forgiveness) and cutting a recruiting tool for our armed services when we\u2019re in one of the longest wars we\u2019ve ever been in, that to me is a national security issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A House committee spokesman told Military Times in March that borrowers currently using federal direct student loans would be grandfathered into the legislation and would not be affected if the program is cut. According to the DoD document, approximately 6,800 service members are anticipating having their student loan debt written off through the loan forgiveness program, created in 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though there\u2019s been no movement on the bill since February, the education committee spokesman said staff are working with House leadership to getting it to the floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the clock is ticking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources with close knowledge of the legislative agenda tell Military Times PROSPER has a lot of must-pass legislation to compete with, and the partisan nature of the bill may make it a tough sell in an already-contentious election cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a lot of concerns from both sides of the aisle on it,\u201d said Lauren Augustine, policy director for Student Veterans of America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with August recess just two and a half months away, \u201cit\u2019s less likely to have floor time as the floor time dwindles,\u201d Augustine said, though she\u2019s not ruling it out. She and Ang said it\u2019s clear the bill\u2019s Republican proponents, led by House Education and the Workforce Committee chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., are committed to moving forward with the legislation as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy feeling is that if we can get through (July) then it will probably be OK,\u201d Ang said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t