On the recordJanuary 29, 2020
This amendment, in reading through the bill, brings something forward that we have experienced a number of times in the natural disasters that have poured forth and the flooding in my district over the 17 years-plus that I have represented the folks in the Missouri River bottom, in particular; but, also, it affects everybody else around the country. In reading the base bill, it says that the 3-month grace period that is granted for a student loan begins on the date that the declaration of disaster is issued, and often that declaration of disaster is issued sometimes months after the disaster is over. The crisis is also over for the former student who was paying their student loans and having difficulty meeting those obligations because they have been the victim of a natural disaster, whether it be a hurricane, whether it be a flood, whether it be a tornado or some other type of natural disaster. This morning, I saw there was an earthquake down across from Florida, across the Caribbean. What this amendment does is move that date back to the initial date of the disaster itself rather than the date that it was declared a disaster. The language in the current bill says, ``date on which the major disaster or emergency was declared.'' Instead, the language becomes, ``initial date of the incident period of the major disaster or emergency.'' Mr. Chairman, I would point out some of these dates along the way that stand out to me.…
