Forbes

President Trump signed an executive order today calling for more streamlined discharges of federal student loans for disabled veterans who cannot maintain employment to repay their debts. The President noted in the order, “There is a pressing need to quickly and effectively resolve this problem [of disabled veterans carrying student loan debt].  Therefore, my Administration will take prompt action to ensure that all totally and permanently disabled veterans are able to obtain, with minimal burden, the Federal student loan debt discharges to which they are legally entitled.” …

Today’s executive order does not create a new student loan forgiveness program; rather, it directs the U.S. Dept. of Education and U.S. Dept. of Veteran’s Affairs to streamline the TPD discharge process.

The effort to improve the TPD discharge process for disabled veterans is laudable and important. The V.A. already has information on veterans who have been certified as completely disabled, and there is no reason that the agency cannot share this information with the Dept. of Education. This is particularly important since many disabled student loan borrowers — veterans and non-veterans alike — are never informed that the TPD discharge even exists, and the application can be confusing and cumbersome.