Fairness For Struggling Students Act Would Reform Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Rules

By Tyler Kingkade. Three U.S. Senators unveiled legislation Wednesday to reverse a 2005 change in bankruptcy laws that makes it nearly impossible to have private student loan debt discharged.
The Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2013 is cosponsored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Jack Reed (D-Ill.). For Durbin, a high-ranking Democrat, it's the return of legislation he authored in the previous session of Congress.
Student loans are the largest form of consumer debt, topping $1 trillion nationally, but they're the only type not eligible for bankruptcy. Rich Williams, a former higher education advocate for U.S. Public Interest Research Group, described private student debt as "a special circle of bankruptcy hell reserved for dads who avoid child support and tax evaders." Read more...