A group of Democratic senators is calling on the Defense and Education departments to make sure U.S. troops get protections related to student loans, mortgage payments and credit card debt.
The effort is in response to reports that many military families are facing serious debt issues related to student loans and other payments.
{mosads}The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is intended to give active-duty military help in paying off student loans, outstanding credit card debt, mortgage payments and other obligations.
“We ask that you redouble your efforts to ensure that service members get complete, accurate and timely information about their student loans, SCRA protections, loan forgiveness and other benefits, repayment options and the tradeoffs among the options so that they can make the best and most informed choices for themselves and their families,” Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
The letter argued that many military families face problems on debt because of identity theft.
“Identity theft or errors in a service member’s credit report can be particularly problematic as they may impact the service member’s security clearance or military career prospects,” the senators wrote.
The letter specifically asks for answers to six questions, including how the departments educate service members and lenders on the law, how they coordinate with each other on their loan programs and how each department is addressing complaints.