Schumer Reveals: Soldiers Must Pay Interest on Student Loans Even When Deployed to Dangerous Combat Zones - Schumer Pushes Measure to Suspend Loan Payments, Savings NY Soldiers Throughout Upstate Thousands

Press Release

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that he is pushing a measure that would suspend interest payments on federal student loans for soldiers who are deployed to combat zones overseas. During a conference call, Schumer said that the legislation could save the average service member with a direct federal student loans as much as $1,500 per deployment. More than 15% of our armed forces deployed overseas have college or graduate degrees, meaning approximately 1,700 soldiers in Upstate New York may be seeing interest on their student loans accrue as they fight for their country in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The legislation being pushed by Schumer will get right to the heart of the problem by prohibiting any interest on the direct loans of active duty service members- saving millions for service members and families across Upstate New York. Additionally, Schumer said that while these men and woman are put in harm's way, the least we can do is ensure that their loan balance doesn't grow.

"Our men and women serving are performing the highest form of service to our nation, they shouldn't have to worry about interest payments while they're in a war zone," Schumer said. "It's simple: if you're fighting for your country abroad, there's no interest piling up at home."

In 2008, Congress passed legislation that prevented interest from accruing on direct loans originated after October 2008. The bill provided important relief to service members who intended to take out loans in the future, but it did not address those who currently had loan debt. This legislation that Schumer is pushing will correct the problem and provide interest relief to all active duty service members with eligible loans, saving our service members thousands of dollars in unnecessary interest for the time they are fighting for their country. Specifically, the proposal would prohibit interest from accruing on direct student loans for all service members on active duty for up to 60 months. This would save the average service member between $1,183 and $1,479 over the course of a 12- to 15-month activation period.

There are thousands of service women and men across the country currently serving in combat zones who may be seeing interest on their student loans accrue as they fight for their country. And in Upstate New York there are nearly 1,700 service women and men who may be seeing this increase. Below is a regional breakdown of service members who may be seeing increasing costs as they serve abroad. The Department of Defense does not keep figures on education broken down by county, so the figures below and in the attached report are estimates based on numbers for the armed forces as a whole.

o In the Capital Region, 69 soldiers could save.

o In Western New York, 105 soldiers could save.

o In the Rochester-Finger Lakes Region, 70 soldiers could save.

o In Central New York, 66 soldiers could save.

o In the Southern Tier, 48 soldiers could save.

o In the Hudson Valley, 118 soldiers could save.

o In the North Country, 323 soldiers could save.

Schumer added, "Our service women and men are making tremendous sacrifices for us in the most dangerous places in the world, they shouldn't have to worry about getting nickel and dimed while they're risking their lives for their country."

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