Loan
Forgiveness: On Hold
April 30, 2004
Congressional Update
When the year started, we were hopeful that legislation promoting
loan forgiveness for social workers would move as part of the
reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). There has
been some congressional activity on HEA, but it is unlikely
that work on the bill will be completed before the end of the
session.
The bad news is that social workers will go another year without
federal help in paying off their student loans; the good news
is that we have more time to build support for loan forgiveness.
And more support is needed. It has been very slow going. Even
though many members of Congress are somewhat supportive, they
are concerned about the cost and its impact on the ballooning
federal budget deficit. Others are hesitant to support loan
forgiveness for one profession and not another (teachers being
the exception).
If you have not yet contacted your own members of Congress,
please do so, and encourage your friends and colleagues to
do the same. Draft letters are available on the Web site at http://63.66.87.48/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=NASW
And if your friends or colleagues have not yet joined NASW's
Advocacy listserv, please encourage them to do so. Here is
the link: http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/networkNew.asp
Advocacy Tool
A document that we hope will enhance our collective advocacy
on loan forgiveness is posted at http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/updates/042204.asp It
is a compilation of social worker loan debt in selected states.
The information was requested by the national office and provided
by both individual social workers and social work programs.
NASW would like to publicly thank all who responded.
We will be exploring ways to gather additional data from other
states, but believe this is a good start. The document's message
can be enhanced by combining it with the personal stories contained
in "The Need for Loan Forgiveness for Social Workers In
Their Own Words," which is also available on the Web site.
As always, thanks for your advocacy.
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