Washington, D.C. - The House of Representatives today passed the Budget Reconciliation Conference Report which included a key provision authored by Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
“This massive piece of legislation contains hundreds of provisions, most of them bad,” said Van Hollen. “However, I am pleased that it included this provision that reflects the values of the American people. We have thousands of brave men and women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan who, along with their families, are making a tremendous sacrifice. Providing them with student loan relief is an important step in helping to minimize the hardship associated with deployment and providing them with the opportunities they deserve.”
Van Hollen’s amendment, which he offered with Congressmen Tim Ryan (D-OH) and Tom Osborne (R-NE), would give mandatory deferments of student loans to active duty military personnel who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The deferments not only suspend student loan payments, but also prevent the accumulation of interest for the duration of the deferment.
Before the Higher Education reauthorization of 1992 – and throughout the Vietnam War – military personnel deployed during wartime were entitled to receive mandatory deferment on their federal student loans. The Van Hollen amendment would renew this student loan relief for military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The conference report is now headed to the President’s desk for his signature.