At Murray’s Urging, Department of Education to Refund Military Borrowers on Overcharges

Murray: “This is a step in the right direction…I will continue to hold the Department accountable for protecting military borrowers.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Education announced that it would refund money to all military borrowers who were charged more than six percent interest on their federal student loans between 2009 and July 2014. The decision follows a letter, led by Senator Murray, along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Richard Durbin (D-IL), to acting Education Secretary John King, urging a full review to determine the number of servicemembers who were denied the right to have their student loan interest rate capped under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

“I am pleased the Department will correct this injustice and refund all military borrowers for the money they were overcharged on their student loans,” said Senator Murray. “Since this mistreatment first came to light, I have pressed for answers and action, because one servicemember cheated on their student loans is one too many. This is a step in the right direction, but I will continue to hold the Department accountable for protecting military borrowers and work on ways to ensure these violations never happen again.”