Staff Report
U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., announced this week that the House of Representatives easily approved legislation designed to ensure U.S. military reservists called to active duty are not forced to make payments on student loans while deployed overseas.
"We must ensure that institutions of higher learning are flexible and accommodating to the students called up for duty as they deploy and return to the classroom," Udall said in a press release. "This bipartisan legislature will make the process of finally earning a college degree more seamless for these young Americans and their families."
The bill, titled "the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003," will enable the U.S. Secretary of Education to provide the appropriate assistance and flexibility to our men and women in uniform as they transfer in and out of postsecondary education during a time of war, Udall said.
The bill will ask post-secondary institutions to provide a full refund of tuition and fees to students for the period they were not able to complete because of their military service. This would minimize deferral of enrollment or reapplication requirements, making it easier for military personnel to re-enter their postsecondary education when they return from active duty.
For example, the families of military reservists who left their jobs when called to active duty could be relieved from making student loan payments during their time of service, and the families of borrowers serving active military duty are exempt from collection calls from lenders the entire duration of deployment.
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"Some of the men and women serving in the Persian Gulf are U.S. military reservists who are college and university students, and many of these students participate in federal financial aid programs," Udall said. "This legislation is an important step in allowing these brave men and women to focus on the difficult task of defending our country and let them deal with their student obligations when they return."
In addition to covering students called to active duty, the bill applies to anyone who lives in or is employed in an area declared to be a disaster area in connection with a national emergency, or anyone who has suffered direct economic hardship as a result of a war or other military operation.
According to UNM figures, more than 20 UNM students have had to withdraw from the University so far this academic year when they were called to active military duty.
