American Bar Association 2002 Legislative and Governmental Priorities Student Loan Forgiveness Background ·  Current Status ·  ABA Policy ·  Key Points ·  Links Background Hello Many law school graduates are discouraged from pursuing public interest or government legal service due to large debt burdens incurred in financing their legal education. Loan forgiveness and loan repayment assistance programs can help enable lawyers to serve in these positions. The federal government has established a few limited loan cancellation or forgiveness programs. However, lawyers or legal services providers are not currently eligible to participate in the majority of these programs. Many members of Congress oppose including lawyers in these programs because they believe loan forgiveness should be targeted only to persons entering low paying occupations, occupations that have severe shortages, or occupations related to a national need. In the 106th Congress, the House Education and the Workforce Committee on May 25, 2000, approved an ABA backed amendment to a Higher Education Act technical corrections bill making prosecutors and public defenders eligible for loan forgiveness under the Perkins student loan program. Sponsored by Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ), the provision, approved on a 25-19 vote, would allow public defenders and prosecutors to be eligible for the same student loan forgiveness established for police officers and prison guards under the Perkins student loan program. The provision incorporated a $30,000 income cap (not supported by the ABA) offered by Committee Chair William Goodling (R-PA) -- who said he opposed extending loan forgiveness to yet another group -- and accepted by Rep. Payne. The legislation, H.R. 1504, passed the House on June 12, 2000, and was referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Senate. Committee Chairman James Jeffords (R-VT) opposed extending the loan forgiveness provision to prosecutors and defenders. Time ran out in the session before the Committee could act on H.R. 1504. A similar Senate bill, S. 2423 (Durbin, D-IL), received no action. Current Status On June 27, 2001, Sen. Durbin reintroduced as S. 1112 his bill to provide Federal Perkins Loan cancellation for public defenders. It was referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. The Senate version of the FY 02 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, H.R. 2647, which passed on July 31, 2001, included a provision authorizing loan repayment for employees, including attorneys, of the Senate, Congressional Budget Office, General Accounting Office and Library of Congress. Although the House version of the bill did not include a similar provision, it was ultimately included in the conference report, which passed the House and Senate on November 1, 2001, and was signed into law by the president on November 12. On March 7, 2002, a bipartisan group of Representatives introduced H.R. 3893, legislation to permit the government to offer tax-free loan repayment to encourage graduates to pursue careers in the federal government. On July 18, 2002, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 486, the Innocence Protection Act. Included as an amendment to this bill was a provision establishing a program to repay Stafford loans for both prosecutors and defenders who agree to remain employed in public service for a minimum of three years. This section also extends Perkins loan forgiveness, previously only available to prosecutors, to public defenders as well. A number of other bills providing for expanded or new loan forgiveness programs have been introduced in the 107th Congress. However, these bills are primarily targeted to teachers and members of the Armed Services, and do not extend eligibility to attorneys. ABA Policy The ABA urges law schools, state and local bar associations, and federal and state lawmakers to establish Loan Assistance Repayment, Loan Forgiveness, and Income-Sharing Programs for law school graduates accepting low-paying, legal, public interest employment. Key Points Students who borrow for law school are graduating with an average educational debt between $70,000 and $80,000. The average public interest legal salary is approximately $31,000. This disparity between public interest and government salaries and the tremendous debt burden faced by a majority of law school graduates effectively precludes many young lawyers from pursuing a career in public service. The need for legal services attorneys in America has never been greater, over 80% of the civil legal needs of the poor are not being met. The federal government’s loan forgiveness programs are severely limited in scope and impact. Despite the great need for legal services providers, lawyers are not eligible to participate in most of the current federal government loan forgiveness programs. ABA Links ABA Letters and Testimony ABA Grassroots Legislative Action Center ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar ABA Law Student Division ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division Other Links U.S. Department of Education National Association for Public Interest Law Last Updated: November 12, 2002 Background ·  Current Status ·  ABA Policy ·  Key Points ·  Links

2002 Priorities: Application of State Ethical Codes Gramm-Leach-Bliley Health Care Accountability: Medical Malpractice Health Care Accountability: Patients' Bill of Rights Immigration Independence of the Judiciary: Erosion of the Judicial Process Independence of the Judiciary: Judicial Compensation Independence of the Judiciary: Judicial Vacancies Legal Remedies to Eliminate Discrimination Legal Services Corporation Rule of Law: International Organizations Rule of Law: International Treaties Student Loan Forgiveness Tax Simplification