Center for American Progress

What Congress Should Do to Give Student Loan Borrowers Hope For Relief
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What Congress Should Do to Give Student Loan Borrowers Hope For Relief

Student loans are the only debt that can't be discharged in bankruptcy. Joe Valenti and David Bergeron argue for two law changes to fix this.

Steve Mason’s story could keep any parent up at night.

The Redlands, Calif. pastor co-signed $100,000 in private student loans for his daughter Lisa to attend nursing school. But Lisa died suddenly at age 27.

Now, the loans intended to ensure her financial future are threatening to impoverish her parents and their three young grandchildren because Mason remains on the hook for the loans. He is struggling to provide for his family while trying to negotiate with lenders to settle on his daughter’s debt which, with interest and penalties, now totals about $200,000.

The above excerpt was originally published in Money. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Joe Valenti

Director, Consumer Finance

David A. Bergeron

Senior Fellow