Congress OKs Bill Forgiving Up to $60K in Loans for Prosecutors, PDs

Criminal Justice

Congress OKs Bill Forgiving Up to $60K in Loans for Prosecutors, PDs

Posted Aug 5, 2008, 09:51 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Congress passed legislation last week that forgives up to $10,000 a year in student loans for state and local prosecutors and public defenders who pledge to stay on the job at least three years.

The law would forgive a maximum of $60,000 in school loans for a six-year stint, report the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Journal (sub. req.). The measure was modeled after a forgiveness program available to federal prosecutors.

One of the bill’s lead sponsors, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said at a news conference that he expects President Bush to sign the measure, the Tribune story says. He said the average debt of a law school graduate ranges from $50,000 to $90,000, yet the median starting salary for state and local prosecutors and public defenders is about $45,000.

ABA President William H. Neukom released a statement praising Congress for passing the legislation, part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. He also supported a different measure signed into law last fall that retires student loan debt after 10 years of service to government agencies or nonprofit organizations.

Together the measure helps "ensure access to justice to all people by helping those who choose to enter low-paying public service careers to better focus on the services they provide while repaying what is often staggering student loan debt," Neukom said.

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Posted by ARZ - 3 weeks, 1 day, 10 hours, 11 minutes ago

What a fantastic idea. It’s quite frustrating making that monthly payment to Sallie Mae and barely seeing that balance change month after month. What a great way to lure & keep quality attorneys in these positions!
Posted by NJHandyGirl - 3 weeks, 15 hours, 43 minutes ago

This is great news. It will allow more people to pursue and stay in these careers.
Posted by Bob - 3 weeks, 13 hours, 56 minutes ago

My coworkers and I have been following this bill for a long time, and we’re glad to finally see it being passed.

Now let’s just hope they also appropriate enough funds to make the program worthwhile.
Posted by b - 3 weeks, 13 hours, 53 minutes ago

Ridiculous. If you’re going to give PDs what is effectively a pay increase, why discriminate against PDs who may not have student loans? Why not bloc grants to the states? Also, why should the federal government care about what is quintessentially a state and local matter?
Posted by J - 3 weeks, 12 hours, 49 minutes ago

that sucks, since I just left the public sector for a higher paying job in the private sector :-(
Posted by H - 3 weeks, 12 hours, 9 minutes ago

B you must not fully appreciate the measure! Most attorneys in Public Service (PD’s and Prosecutors either federal or state and local) have student loans and those who do not are fortunate. The goal of the bill is to foster a growth of graduates who are willing to join public service WITH the lower pay scale. Private firms often pay 2-4x what public interest law or non-profit firms can pay. It is feared that the access to quality legal assistance has been hampered by the lack of ability to accept the lower pay with the increasing costs associated with earning a law degree today.
Posted by Jen - 3 weeks, 11 hours, 47 minutes ago

Does anyone know if this would work in conjunction with the College Cost Reduction Act that was just passed last fall?
Posted by Mike - 3 weeks, 11 hours, 20 minutes ago

The preliminary regs for the PS Loan forgiveness programs won’t be issued until after the President signs this into law, so it’s too early to tell.

My guess is that some will (loan forgiveness after 10 years will still be an option for those with very high debt, in excess of 60k) and some won’t (PDs and prosecutors will lose eligibility for payment reductions for the first six years)

For the best clearinghouse of information on public service loan forgiveness, both through CCRA and the measure discussed above, check out http://www.ibrinfo.org/
Posted by Daniel Kelber - 3 weeks, 11 hours, 11 minutes ago

There are a heck of a lot more attorneys working in the public sector making as little or less than prosecutors and PDs (me being one of them). Why is this being extended only to those in the criminal justice system?
Posted by Chad - 3 weeks, 11 hours, 2 minutes ago

$60,000 over 6 years = $10,000 per year. It’s really not as big a deal as people are making it out to be.
Posted by Chris - 3 weeks, 10 hours, 45 minutes ago

How is average law debt only 50 - 90,000? I’m living alone so I take out a lot of living expense loans, but even if I didn’t, my debt for tuition alone would be 91,500. Then tack on books, fees, etc and you have another 3 to 5 thousand. Most law schools cost as much or more than my school, and financial aid scholarships, as I’ve unfortunately discovered, are given to very few students. Almost no one gets grants/scholarships at my school. So how is the average debt that low? I have 150,000 from law school. What am I missing?
Posted by CP - 3 weeks, 10 hours, 34 minutes ago

As a prosecutor, I think this is great news! I agree with Daniel that this should be extended to other public service jobs, but I was honestly thinking about looking for a job with a higher salary before I read this article. This might convince me to stay where I am.
Posted by Zuck - 3 weeks, 10 hours, 25 minutes ago

Chris, state school tuition is a beautiful thing.
Posted by MommyEsq - 3 weeks, 10 hours, 21 minutes ago

Chris - the 50-90k figure is probably the average of younger and older grads (who because of the time value of money didn’t borrow as much), or it could be because not all law students borrow the full amount each year
Posted by PublicInterested - 3 weeks, 10 hours, 17 minutes ago

Not sure how this will shake out with the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. The CCRAA forgives loans after 10 years of gov’t or public interest work. The Income Based Repayment portion of the CCRAA kicks in in July 2009, and everyone is eligible, regardless of employer.

This law only requires a 3 year commitment to get the loan repayment assistance and to obtain partial loan forgiveness.

Check THOMAS for further details.
Posted by Joe - 3 weeks, 10 hours, 4 minutes ago

Such bulls*it. I am in a major corporation, and I have friends that are county attorneys and they make almost what I make. In fact, I am with Fortune 10 company that made me an offer out of law school (in house right out - wooohooo). 50k to start!!! That is correct! And, that was in NYC. I took a transfer to Texas just so I could pay my bills. 8 years later, and I have finally broken 100k.

If your not in a big firm, any other position be it government, firm or in-house the pay is not $160,000 to start (and no where near it).

This just ends up another government give away to a select few. I could use my debt cut by 60k after private law school in NYC.

If someone wants to go into public service, they should consider that when selecting a law school, so their debt is not 100k when they get done. Chris, the average debt is 50-90, becuase some people go to state law schools and have other resources for tution (ie. parents).

How come it is always the ones that “love” doing public service that bitch about their income? They all knew the salaries in those areas before they went to law school, so they should live with their choice. Public service for the “love” of their work. Don’t make the taxpayers foot your bill. Just more liberal Democratic bullsh*t. Marxist redistribution of income.
Posted by April - 3 weeks, 9 hours, 50 minutes ago

Thank goodness someone in congress is actually getting some positive work done, and Bush may acutally do some GOOD before he finally leaves office. I have been practicing law for 8 years, exclusively in PD, non profit work. Although this measure will not help me directly since I am no longer a PD, huurah to the effort.

If it wasn’t for the CCRA, I would never see the end of the law school loan road..and it is ashame that some people can only think of themselves, and not the greater good in an effort like this.
Posted by Dorothy - 3 weeks, 8 hours, 51 minutes ago

Chris and Zuck,
I have $150k for tuition at a state school and living expenses for a very cheap apartment in the midwest (and no car payments). I was used to living poor, too, so law school was just a continuation of college in that respect. I can’t imagine what people do who have the same debt and a highest cost of living.
Posted by lawstudent - 3 weeks, 8 hours, 34 minutes ago

For those in public service (or thinking about it), a law professor wrote an extensive law review article about the the College Cost Reduction and Access Act and how it relates to lawyers.
http://lsr.nellco.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=georgetown/fwps

As to Chris’ question. The article says that only 80% of students borrow for law school (which obviously brings down the average), but that the median debt amount for a graduate of a private law school is $103,000 (up from $79,000 in 1999).

As for Joe’s comments, I agree to the extent that many law students don’t put enough thought into how much debt they will incur.

That said, we have a systemic problem if we can’t keep talented lawyers working in necessary, low-paying positions.

Congrats to Joe on getting an in-house counsel job right out of law school ... but 50K in NYC in 2000 for a Fortune 10? Sounds like you were on the wrong end of supply and demand for a job that doesn’t benefit society ...
Posted by Daniel Kelber - 3 weeks, 8 hours, 3 minutes ago

The CCRAA seemed fantastic when it was passed, unfortunately it is not retroactive. I looked at the numbers, switching from my current 30 year pay back plan ($600/mo for 30 years!!!) to the income-based payback, which would significantly increase my monthly payments, and it turns out that I would pay off my loans before any benefits would kick in. I’ve been working in the public sector for almost 10 years now. Why should I have to put in another 10 to show my commitment to public service?
Posted by CJT - 2 weeks, 3 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes ago

Um, 40-60K (depending on where you live) is only a “low paying” job if you’re carying 100K in debt. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is an absolutely great idea, but just remember the availability of loans are what drove costs of higher education to sky high levels in the first place. It isn’t long before law schools will feel comfortable raising their tuition even more as the average salary of their graduates rises.

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