President Trump is canceling federal student loan debt held by disabled U.S. veterans.
Trump announced the new executive memorandum at a speech in front of the American Veterans organization in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday.
“I am taking executive action to ensure that our wounded warriors are not saddled with mountains of student debt,” Trump told an audience of veterans. He is ordering the Department of Education “to eliminate every penny of federal student loan debt owed by American veterans who are completely and permanently disabled.”
The order will aid more than 25,000 eligible veterans holding roughly $30,000 worth of student loan debt, Trump said. No federal tax will be levied against the forgiven debts, and the president is pushing each state to waive state taxes on the benefit, as well.
Congress is considering legislation toward a similar end in the Federally Requiring Earned Education-Debt Discharges for Veterans Act, or FREED Vets Act. The legislation would shift the burden of student loan debt held by disabled veterans onto American taxpayers whether or not each veteran applies for the program.
