美国国家公共电台 NPR Congress Promised Student Borrowers A Break. Education Dept. Rejected 99% Of Them

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Now a story that affects tens of thousands of student loan borrowers. Congress expanded an effort to forgive the student loans of public servants. A new government watchdog report says 99% of those people have been denied. NPR's Cory Turner got an early look at the report.

CORY TURNER, BYLINE¹: If you're feeling deja vu, well, that's because this is me, on this program, about this time last year.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

TURNER: Twenty-nine thousand applications for Public Service Loan Forgiveness have been processed so far. And of those, 99% have been denied. In other words...

...Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF, began in 2007. And it seemed simple enough. Work as a nurse, firefighter, a teacher - the list is long - while paying down your federal student loans, and after 10 years, the Education Department would forgive whatever's left. Matthew and Heather Austin, who are teachers, built their future around this promise.

MATTHEW AUSTIN: I remember sitting there when we found out that Heather was pregnant with our first child and saying, OK, well, when he's 10, we can take a vacation.

TURNER: Ten because that's when Heather's student loans would finally be forgiven under PSLF. Heather, by the way, did not want to talk about what has been a long, painful odyssey² for them both. See, PSLF isn't simple at all. Borrowers also have to have a certain kind of loan in a certain kind of payment plan. Last year, when Heather thought she'd met all the requirements, the Austins got the letter they'd been looking forward to.

AUSTIN: Opened it up, and my jaw³ just kind of dropped.

TURNER: Instead of congratulations, the letter said the Austins were still somehow 10 more years away from loan forgiveness. It turns out, Matthew says, they'd been in the wrong payment plan.

AUSTIN: I'm trying not to swear. I, (laughter), I mean, I really - this is the angriest I've been in my adult life.

TURNER: Congress heard the outcry from borrowers last year and tried to help.

BOBBY SCOTT: This wasn't a puzzle or a lottery⁴.

TURNER: Congressman⁵ Bobby Scott is a Virginia Democrat⁶ and chairman of the House Education Committee.

SCOTT: It's just incredible that we had to, last year, pass legislation to create an emergency program.

TURNER: Congress set aside $700 million and relaxed some of those rigid⁷ requirements so more people could qualify. So for the past year, tens of thousands of borrowers, like Heather Austin, have applied⁸ for this emergency temporary fix. But NPR has obtained an audit⁹ of the program's first year by the Government Accountability Office, and here's the deja vu. GAO says, as with the original program, 99% of applications for this expansion of PSLF are also being denied.

MELISSA EMREY-ARRAS: I think we were disheartened. I think we were discouraged.

TURNER: Melissa Emrey-Arras led this new GAO investigation¹⁰.

EMREY-ARRAS: And you wanted to help a lot of people. And you don't want borrowers to be confused about the eligibility¹¹ criteria¹² and to face a high denial rate. And yet, that's what we found.

TURNER: The GAO report, out today, says most denials, 71%, were because of a technicality. Borrowers who know they don't qualify for PSLF still have to apply for it so they can be rejected before they can apply for the fix. And that's exactly what's happened to Matthew and Heather Austin.

AUSTIN: What sort of Kafkaesque thing are we in here where I apply for one thing, I'm told I'm denied for this, and if I'm denied for this, I should apply for another thing and then when I get to the second thing, I'm told that I haven't been denied for the first thing? I mean, I really - I mean, I'm just cross-eyed reading these things.

TURNER: In its review, the GAO recommends that the Ed Department simplify the application process and give borrowers better information to navigate¹³ such a complicated system. For its part, the Department says it agrees with the GAO's recommendations about how to improve the programs and that a number of those efforts are already underway. Cory Turner, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

3 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

4 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

7 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

12 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

13 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。