Congress Approves Loan Repayment Assistance for Legal Aid Lawyers

On September 7, both houses of Congress approved a bill that would authorize loan repayment assistance for civil legal services lawyers.

Section 401 of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (H.R. 2669) creates a new loan forgiveness program that would forgive the remaining balance on eligible federal loans for borrowers who, for ten years, have been employed by non-profit civil legal aid organizations and made every monthly payment on their loans. For attorneys with less than ten years of employment, one-tenth of the total loan will be forgiven for every year of employment.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-CA). U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings has announced that President Bush will sign the bill into law. No money has been authorized to fund this program.

In July, the U.S. Senate approved a different loan repayment assistance program for civil legal aid attorneys, but the House has yet to act on that measure.

For more information on the bill, click here.