Lifting the Burden: Law Student Debt as a Barrier to Public Service

A number of bills expanding or initiating loan forgiveness programs are pendingin the 108th Congress. However, these bills primarily target teachers and membersof the Armed Services, and do not cover lawyers.On May 21, 2003, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Michael DeWine (R-OH), SusanCollins (R-ME) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced S. 1091, the Prosecutors andDefenders Incentive Act. The legislation would establish student loan repaymentunder the Stafford Loan Program for full-time prosecutors and public defenders, whoagree to serve for a minimum of three years. The ABA supports this bill. The Housecompanion legislation, H.R. 2198, was introduced by Representatives David Scott (D-GA) and Zach Wamp (R-TN). On June 23, 2003, Representative Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) introduced H.R. 2562, the Public Interest Lawyer Assistance and Relief Act, whichproposes to establish a loan repayment assistance program for public interestattorneys, including legal aid lawyers, federal, state or local government attorneysand judicial clerks.Several other bills introduced in the 108th Congress would extend benefits tolawyers under existing or new loan forgiveness programs. On March 11, 2003, SenatorDaniel Akaka (D-HI) introduced S. 589 to establish a pilot program for student loanrepayment for federal employees in areas of critical importance to national security.The employee must remain in the position for at least three years and the programprovides up to $10,000 repayment per year with a total repayment cap of $80,000. OnMarch 18, 2003, Representative George Miller (D-CA) introduced H. R. 1306, to help fillshortages of highly skilled workers in key public service sectors by providing up to$17,500 in loan forgiveness for graduates who enter teaching, child care, nursing,child welfare, and other high priority public service careers. House Resolution 1306also includes provisions that would make the ABA-recommended changes to theincome-contingent repayment option of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program.The Commission recommends that Congress create Stafford loan forgiveness forpublic service lawyers as part of a comprehensive plan to encourage and enable lawgraduates to take and remain in lower-paying public service jobs. By establishingloan forgiveness under the Stafford Loan Program, Congress would create a powerfulincentive to attract lawyers to public service jobs and provide them with the abilityto remain in these jobs. For some law graduates, loan forgiveness could enable themto stay in public service jobs for many years or even their entire careers. Others,especially those supporting families and/or with large debt obligations, could takepublic service jobs as long as their Stafford loans were forgiven. However, once loanforgiveness ceased, some may not be able to remain in a lower-paying public servicejob for their full career. An improved income-contingent repayment option under theFederal Direct Lending Program could afford these graduates the ability and incentiveto remain in public service jobs for their entire careers. Also, raising the Staffordloan limit would help law graduates pursue public service careers by facilitating theirparticipation in the income-contingent repayment option.Congress should extend loan forgiveness under the Perkins Loan Program to attorneysworking in public service, such as public defenders and legal aid attorneys.Currently, prosecutors are eligible, as law enforcement officers, to receiveforgiveness of their Federal Perkins loans. At a minimum, Congress should also extendequivalent assistance to public defenders. By doing so, Congress would recognize thatthe enforcement of criminal laws requires lawyers to represent defendants just as itrequires lawyers to prosecute them. For the adversarial system of criminal justice tooperate, resources must be balanced for both prosecution and indigent defense. 7741Federal77Id.