Education

How the Clinton administration made it harder on student borrowers

From The Hill: “In the late 1990s, the Clinton Administration spearheaded an effort to make it dramatically more difficult for Americans with student loans to obtain loan forgiveness in bankruptcy. … Prior to the legal change in 1998, student borrowers could also ‘discharge’ student loans if the borrower had been in repayment for seven years, notwithstanding the undue hardship test. In 1998, without hearings and debate, Section 971 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, removed the seven-year legal test. When signing the bill 1998 bill into law, President Clinton issued a signing statement that asserted, ‘this bill represents a positive, bipartisan advancement for students, teachers, and the future of higher education.’  In hindsight, the legislation appears to be less ‘positive’ for students.”

View the full article from The Hill.