{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=FECA8AC5-C877-43A2-8DAE-28A416379104", "On Senate Floor, Warner Highlights Legislation Providing Relief to Those Trapped in Joint Student Loans", "2022-09-28", "2022", "2022-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Mark R. Warner", "W000805", "www.warner.senate.gov", "warner", "https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 This evening, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) took to the Senate floor to speak on the urgent need to enact the Congressionally-approved Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act,legislation he authored and championed to provide much-needed relief for individuals who previously consolidated their student loan debt with a spouse.\n\n\u201cIn 2017, I introduced the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act to solve this problem and give borrowers a way out of these exploitative loans. It took seven years, but we got the bill through Congress with bipartisan support. This is a rare accomplishment. As a Congress, it\u2019s not often that we pass standalone bills. Much less ones with unanimous Senate support or bipartisan House support. That\u2019s a testament to what a critical and commonsense fix this is \u00ad \u2014one that will actually change the lives of thousands of folks almost overnight,\u201d said Sen. Warner on the floor of the U.S. Senate.\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like to close in saying that this week, I called Sara back, the constituent who originally brought this to my attention,\u201d he continued. \u201cShe told me that without this law, and even if she\u2019d continued making all her monthly payments, it would be impossible to erase this debt in her lifetime. She would be tied to her ex-husband for the rest of her life. For Sara, and for all the thousands of borrowers impacted by this, it\u2019s time for President Biden to sign this and finally free these borrowers.\n\nSen. Warner\u2019s remarks as prepared for delivery are available below:\n\nM. President, I rise today to celebrate a major accomplishment for thousands of Americans who have been trapped for decades in exploitative\u2026 joint student loans.\n\nThis is an issue that is near and dear to me\u2026 because I\u2019ve been working on it for seven years\u2026 since hearing from a constituent in 2015.\n\nSara from Northern Virginia was part of a group of student loan borrowers who entered into something called a \u201cjoint consolidation loan,\u201d which allowed married couples to combine their student loan debt into one loan.\n\nIn 2006, Congress got rid of this program. However, Congress did not create a way for folks to split the loan back into two.\n\nWhen my constituent, Sara, divorced from her husband, she was still responsible for this loan. All of the debt had originally been his, but when he decided to stop paying\u2026 it was Sara who had to continue facing the consequences.\n\nA single mom of two and a public school teacher\u2026 Sara was financially on the hook for the payments. Her credit suffered and she even faced the possibility of losing her teacher\u2019s license.\n\nAfter looking for a way out, she found out that the only way she could be free of her ex-husband\u2019s debt was through an \u201cact of Congress.\u201d So she contacted my office, and we found out that across the country, thousands of borrowers were trapped in similar situations.\n\nDomestic violence survivors were bound to their abusers by loans. Many were victims of financial abuse and were held completely responsible for debt they\u2019d never taken out. Others were unable to save for retirement or their children\u2019s educations. Public servants were left out of loan forgiveness programs because of the unique constraints of these loans.\n\nIn 2017, I introduced the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act to solve this problem and give borrowers a way out of these exploitative loans.\n\nIt took seven years\u2026 but we got the bill through Congress with bipartisan support.\n\nThis is a rare accomplishment. As a Congress, it\u2019s not often that we pass standalone bills. Much less ones with UNANIMOUS Senate support or bipartisan House support.\n\nThat\u2019s a testament to what a critical and commonsense fix this is \u2026 one that will actually change the lives of thousands of folks almost overnight. Since we introduced this law the first time, my office has heard from so many Americans that are desperate to get this done.\n\nChris, from Indiana, said: \u201cI\u2019ve spent over sixteen years thinking about this loan every day\u2026 and waking up at night trying to create a strategy to pay this loan off. For the first time, I may be able to put my mind at peace.\u201d\n\nSharon\u2026 a 7th grade teacher whose former partner has not made a payment in years\u2026 told us, \u201cI don\u2019t have to do this anymore. I get to live my life. I get to retire this year.\u201d\n\nJessica\u2026. whose former partner refuses to pay his share of the loan\u2026. said, \u201cI am finally about to be free\u2026 of one last way my ex controls me.\u201d\n\nAmy is a public servant who has never been able to take advantage of a single debt-relief program. This bill will change that.\n\nAll these people have asked for\u2026 is a chance to take their student loans into their own hands, and not be saddled with the debt of a former partner.\n\nApplications for the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program close on Oct. 31 of this year.\n\nMany of these borrowers are public school teachers and government workers. They need to be able to apply by that deadline so they are eligible for the same benefits all other Americans have enjoyed.\n\nI am hopeful that Pres. Biden will sign this into law as soon as possible so that these borrowers can finally experience freedom from financial and domestic abuse\u2026 freedom to control their own financial future\u2026 and freedom to enjoy the same benefits as other borrowers across the country.\n\nI\u2019d like to close in saying that this week, I called Sara back, the constituent who originally brought this to my attention.\n\nShe told me that without this law\u2026 and even if she\u2019d continued making all her monthly payments\u2026 it would be impossible to erase this debt in her lifetime. She would be tied to her ex-husband\u2026 literally\u2026 for the rest of her life.\n\nFor Sara, and for all the thousands of borrowers impacted by this, it\u2019s time for Pres. Biden to sign this and finally free these borrowers.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:29:59Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=FECA8AC5-C877-43A2-8DAE-28A416379104"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.473539974540472, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}