Senators register concerns over consumer protections for military families

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has added his name to a growing list of senators seeking to preserve the special consumer protections afforded to U.S. military families.

Durbin joins Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in calling on U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to intensify efforts on behalf of U.S. service members.

At issue is the ability for military families to get complete, accurate and timely information about their student loans; Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protections; loan forgiveness; and other earned benefits so service members can make the best and most informed choices for their families.

In a letter to Carter and Duncan, the senators cited a report published in July by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which documented some of the ongoing challenges military families face with their student loans. Many of those problems are the same as those reported in 2012.

The senators are asking the Cabinet secretaries to clarify how they are working to ensure that student-loan servicers and service-member advisers receive adequate training and education to address the unique needs of military borrowers and their families. The senators said in the letter that they are particularly concerned about enforcing SCRA protections, ensuring coordination with loan-repayment and -forgiveness programs, and providing accurate information regarding active-duty alerts and identity-theft protections.

“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,” the senators said.