Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Disabled Veterans Can Say Adios To Student Loan Debt Thanks To Trump Executive Order
Townhall.com ^ | August 22 2019 | Beth Bauman

Posted on 08/22/2019 11:41:10 AM PDT by Kaslin

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order cancelling student loan debt for permanently disabled veterans. 

According to President Trump, 25,000 disabled veterans will benefit from this move.

“The debt of these disabled veterans will be completely erased,” Trump said during a speech at the American Veterans National Convention in Louisville. “That’s hundreds of millions of dollars of student loans debt for our disabled veterans that will be completely erased.”

It was my honor to sign a Presidential Memorandum facilitating the cancellation of student loan debt for 25K of our most severely disabled Veterans. With today’s order, we express the everlasting love & loyalty of a truly grateful Nation. God bless our Vets, & God Bless America! pic.twitter.com/MMMsX3RDQM— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2019

Out of the 50,000 permanently disabled veterans who qualified, only half of them have received the cancellation benefits because of a burdensome application process. Trump's executive order is meant to "expedite" the process so the student loans are cancelled "with minimal burdens," Fox News reported. 

Under the current process, disabled veterans can have their debt forgiven under a loan forgiveness program, called Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, or TPD, as long as they have a VA service-connected disability rating of 100 percent. As of July, however, only about 20 percent of the eligible pool of veterans had taken advantage of the program due to the complicated nature of the application and other factors.

Part of expediting the process is identifying veterans who qualify for student loan forgiveness. They will be sent a letter, allowing them to opt out of the forgiveness program. They'll have 60 days to opt out before their debt is automatically forgiven, POLITICO reported.

Since April 2018, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has granted student loan forgiveness to more than 22,000 veterans. The price tag for the loans totals more than $650 million.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: betsydevos; disabledvets; excecutiveorder; postedseveraltimes; presidenttrump; studentloans; trumpeo; trumpveterans; veterans; yesterday
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

1 posted on 08/22/2019 11:41:10 AM PDT by Kaslin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Not too great a public debt for those who paid such a dear price. Hope this is not abused by some folks who earn 100% over nickel and dime pursuits of technical disability.


2 posted on 08/22/2019 11:45:08 AM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Manly Warrior

Exactly.

Just what constitutes a Disabled Vet?

The Main Thread from yesterday indicates the VA is being scammed with thousands of phony disability claims being handed out.


3 posted on 08/22/2019 11:47:51 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

If Trump can do this for disabled vets, the next dem president can do is for any and all classes of people. Excluding whites of course. It would be better to set-up a private fund to do this. Trump could seed the fund with a few million and I think they could collect hundreds of millions.


4 posted on 08/22/2019 11:49:00 AM PDT by JoSixChip (I'm an American Nationalist (I just happen to be white))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

you watch the democrats fight this tooth and nail- they will be furious that some money that they intended to go to ILLEGAL CRIMINAL INVADERS will now go to disabled veterans instead


5 posted on 08/22/2019 11:50:53 AM PDT by Bob434
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

As altruistic as it sounds, it will be massively abused.


6 posted on 08/22/2019 11:51:40 AM PDT by SpaceBar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
Again, the question is, does this include disabled people who happen to have worn a uniform at some point in their lives? Or, is it solely for veterans who were wounded and disable in combat?

Also, what kind of disability? Physical only? Or emotional scars such as PTSD?

This could present opportunity for all types of fraud.

7 posted on 08/22/2019 11:52:55 AM PDT by LouAvul
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

I suppose it’s a nice gesture to veterans, but government guaranteed money and loans to “higher education “ has overall been a disaster. It’s contributed to ever-rising tuitions, massive millennial debt loads, and has helped fund a permanent leftist bureaucracy on college campuses


8 posted on 08/22/2019 11:52:56 AM PDT by PGR88
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

This creates the opening for the remaining $1.6 trillion being forgiven. Our grandkids cannot take on any more of OUR obligations.


9 posted on 08/22/2019 11:54:09 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Responsibility2nd

Just what constitutes a Disabled Vet?


Well, I can fake the first part. I’ll just say I have PTSD and, poof, I’m disabled. Regarding the Vet part. If I put a band aid on my dog, does that qualify me?


10 posted on 08/22/2019 11:54:10 AM PDT by cuban leaf (We're living in Dr. Zhivago but without the love triangle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: JoSixChip

As I read it, the law is already in place to do this, but the process is burdensome. If I’m correct, this doesn’t really change who is eligible for it, but rather the administration of processing it.


11 posted on 08/22/2019 11:56:11 AM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: PGR88

Yes, but the “middle man” is out of the picture, so that’s good, right? Right? /s

I overheard one young person at a counter who was applying for an advance on her pay at a veterinary hospital. She was a vet med student. She said, “Well, what’s a few more dollars with $100,000 in loans for school?” I was awfully glad I was sitting down.


12 posted on 08/22/2019 11:56:38 AM PDT by combat_boots (God bless Israel and all who protect and defend her! Merry Christmas! In God We Trust!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Responsibility2nd

The law does, along with administrative rules for executing the laws.

Agency process.


13 posted on 08/22/2019 11:59:55 AM PDT by Manly Warrior (US ARMY (Ret), "No Free Lunches for the Dogs of War")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Responsibility2nd

Not sure yet what the new law includes, but once discharged, a vet is usually evaluated for any disability. Any percentage can qualify one to be categorized as ‘disabled’, which may qualify someone for same percentage of disability compensation, but the free medical for everything for life starts at 50% disabled I believe.

It would be my preference that the free education or loan repayment be limited to those over 50% that are truly disabled, lost limbs, major physical or mental trauma, etc. Those of us lucky enough to be able to still have a relatively normal life (i.e. I am at 30% and I get by just fine, maybe some early age back/joint pains) should count our blessings we don’t need the additional benefits.


14 posted on 08/22/2019 12:02:26 PM PDT by Magnum44 (My comprehensive terrorism plan: Hunt them down and kill them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
Regarding the Vet part. If I put a band aid on my dog, does that qualify me?

Yes. As long as you call your dog a Service Animal. And take him grocery shopping with you.

Before I get flamed from dissing real disabled vets, let me state that I appreciate the sacrifice they made. I live in a small community with a Wounded Warriors facility nearby. I see the real deal where I am. I also see the fakes.

15 posted on 08/22/2019 12:02:27 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Responsibility2nd

Quite a few of my generation lost their lives in Vietnam


16 posted on 08/22/2019 12:21:26 PM PDT by cuban leaf (We're living in Dr. Zhivago but without the love triangle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

So, basically, the program is already there and being used.

The President just wants to speed things up.

Good.


17 posted on 08/22/2019 12:27:03 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

At the end of the day, the money landed in the pockets of establishment liberals.


18 posted on 08/22/2019 12:42:03 PM PDT by Romulus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin; All

Disappointed but not surprised by some of the comments posted here. Read the article and see that it’s just a matter of cutting through the red tape of a program already in place.


19 posted on 08/22/2019 12:48:39 PM PDT by airborne (I don't always scream at the TV but when I do it's hockey season!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin
If the Dems are against this, Trump can use that to kill other Student Loan forgiveness programs.

20 posted on 08/22/2019 12:57:19 PM PDT by BitWielder1 (I'd rather have Unequal Wealth than Equal Poverty.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson