Loan forgiveness bill passes Senate!
Just received word that the John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act of 2007 passed as an amendment to S. 1642 by a vote of 95-0. This loan repayment bill had earlier passed the House.
Here are the main points:
Sphere: Related Content(i) $10,000 for any borrower in any calendar year; or
(ii) an aggregate total of $60,000 in the case of any borrower.
23 comments
From a public policy point of view wouldn’t it make sense if the bill only applied to attorneys where there is a demonstrable need.
The bill applies equally to somebody making $35,000 as to somebody making $150,000.00. as such some may look at endoresment of the bill as “crying wolf” so when government actions which is next requested. If Jay Leno gets wind of this won’t he have a field day–attorneys earning more than $100,000.00 each geting $60,000.00 in government aid–he’ll turn public defenders into a joke. Public defenders don’t need this. It would be better if a bill was passed would be joke proof, because the public does not find this sort of spending funny.
Even more so, given what I’ve recently heard about the bill being applicable to those with 10 years of service.
Initially the bill required only 3 years of service before somebody could benefit, which would defeat part of the bill’s purpose–to encourage experienced attorneys to stay. 10 years of service is probably too long. But, if there is some real commitment needed to receive the $10k per year break, not just a mere 3 years, then perhaps the break is justified, even for those earning $100,000.00 because then it could be argued the receipients earned the benefit, and are not instantly gratified.
I just checked S 1642. The bill requires receipients to agree to only 3 years of service and the benefit will be avaiable as soon as the first year of service. The recepient will be credited back the benefit received if he leaves voluntarily. So under the bill, the recipient can get $30,000.00 in aid for just 3 years of service or $10,000.00 in aid per year for up to 3 additional years. There is no 10 year requirement. Of course, almost always, the attorneys earning the higher salaries at the pd’s office or state’s attorneys office have in fact been at their jobs more than 6 years. Don’t get me wrong, I think a bill of this general nature is long overdue. But it seems that it waltzed through congress without much discussion, debate, or chance to work out the details, which is sure to create its own mess.
If a PD or Prosecutor makes 150000 believe they no longer owe student loans. Not even most of the chief PD’s make that!
does anyone know when or if this is going to be signed by Prez Bush?
I just checked thomas.gov and couldn’t find any mention of this on the amendments to 1642. The bill in question seems to be S.442 introduced by Sen. Durbin. I called my senator’s office and they said they are discussing it right now and haven’t voted on it yet but would, probably within the next day or week, depending on how many amendments or long-winded the senate is. This is as of Tuesday, Sept. 25 in the afternoon.
i have heard that it is part of S. 1642. The House version OF John R. Justice Prosecutor and Defender Incentive Act, H.R. 916, was submitted by Rep. Scott (D-GA) and approved by the House 341-73 in May. The Senate version, S.442, passed the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in April, but was held from a floor vote. Sen. Durbin (D-IL) included the program in an amendment (S.1642) to the Senate Higher Education reauthorization bill without objection, which went on to a unanimous vote, 95-0.
So do we now have to wait for the House to pass the same version of 1642, including Durbin’s amendment? What bill is this in the House? Anyone know?
I’m a public defender, and at 34k a year I need this believe me.
This will go along way toward assisting those of us who would like to work in the public sector and cannot afford it with student loan repayments. I have a debt burden of 47,000 and as the 2d asst PD earn less than 26,000, with no income increases expected. FYI I was working in the private sector and left to work as a PD. I also took a significant pay cut. Loan payments are last on my last after basic necessities
Does anyone know the status of this?
I don’t know where you all are getting your salary figures, but ADAs are lucky to start at 42K.
Anybody have an update on this legislation? I would love to know: (1) if it’s gonna be signed by Bush, (2) what my chances are of getting any help–although I’ll be making $71k as a DDA I have $150k in debt and the cost of living in CA is probably twice what it is in those jurisdictions that pay <$50k. I really want to take the job, but with loan payments around $1,500 it would be much more attractive if I could get a thousand bucks a month from Uncle Sam. Any updates would be greatly appreciated!
What’s the status of this thing? It looks like it was just calendared in the Senate MONTHS ago…
So how do you apply?
I have just made another round of phonecalls. Appearently the bill is now undergoing what they referred to as “negotiated rule making”. This is where they “ngeotiate” the rule, regulations, applications procedures etc. There was no estimated time line on when it would exit this process. However, once it does exit this process, the US Dept. of Education is in charge of making it available to all student loan servicing companies etc. I suggest everyone continue to call the US Department of Education. The more presure exerted, the more quickly we’ll get action.
Michelle, do you have some numbers for us to hammer to get things moving? Thanks!
i am also interested in the phone numbers to call. when they said “no estimated time line” does that mean it could be years? doesnt the bill expire in 2012? i am trying to figure out whether to pay down my debt as much as possible or let it be until forgiveness kicks in. any thoughts? also, anybody know if the forgiveness is income/debt based? thanks
I have heard that there was no money set aside for this program in this year’s budget. Anyone else heard any news on the status?
Anyone heard any developments on this? Like the last poster, I’ll gladly start making calls if we can get some phone numbers posted here. . .
Does anyone know how to apply for the John R. Justice Loan Forgiveness program? I heard the funds are provided by the DOJ.
this appears to be up to date – http://ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/johnrjustice.html
Leave a Comment