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May 19, 2008                                                                            Rick Bart

                                                                                                (360) 733-9426 

                                                                                                RickBart@electrickbart.com                                                                                                       www.electrickbart.com

RICK BART PROPOSES STUDENT LOAN AMNESTY LEGISLATION

Bellingham, WA...Retired Snohomish County Sheriff and Candidate for 2nd Congressional District Rick Bart issued the following statement regarding a proposed Student Loan Amnesty Bill:

"If elected, I would propose legislation that allows citizens who have seen their student loan balances balloon with penalties, fees, and accrued interest for 7 years or more a window of opportunity to repay what they originally borrowed and move on with their lives.  A Student Loan Amnesty Bill would allow millions of citizens to repay their student loan debt obligations and contribute to our nations economic health-not be lifelong slaves to the student loan industry, living under the weight of big government gone awry." 

"Most borrowers wind up paying back double, triple, or far more than the original debt- all under the protection of law.  The reason for this is that nearly all standard consumer protections have been removed for student loans.  This includes bankruptcy protections, refinancing rights, statutes of limitations, and even "Truth in Lending" requirements.  Combine this with the fact that the law allows for lenders to garnish borrowers wages, their income tax returns, and even their Social Security and disability benefits, and one can see how the student loan system is ruining the lives of people.

"Today, student financial aid grants and loans give millions of kids an opportunity to attend college each year and improve their quality of life.  I'm all for it.  However, the default rate on these loans has increased to massive proportions.  These same loans are now crippling the livelihoods of an entire generation of Americans," said Bart. 

"The Congress of 1965 that created the Higher Education Act probably wouldn't believe that in the forty years since student loans were established, the average undergraduate student borrower will now leave school with over $20,000 of debt.  Millions of citizens (about 1 in 4 borrowers) have defaulted on their loans and have been effectively removed from society." 

"The U.S. Student Loan system has been set up in such a way as to be far more profitable for the lending industry when students default on their loans," explains Bart.  The only reason that the laws have been slanted to absurdly in favor of the lenders is the massive lobbying influence the industry has had on Capitol Hill for decades running."

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