AFSCME’s Saunders on proposed PSLF eligibility changes: This unlawful rule shows how little this administration cares about public service workers.

WASHINGTON – AFSCME President Lee Saunders released the following statement after the Department of Education proposed a new rule that would revoke Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility from public service workers whose employers are deemed at odds with the Trump administration’s anti-worker agenda:

“This billionaire-run administration continues to show how little they care about working families. This absurd rule seeks to use public service workers as collateral in their campaign to punish state and local governments, nonprofit hospitals and community organizations who refuse to be yes men and rubberstamp the administration’s extreme, anti-worker agenda. By threatening to take away Public Service Loan Forgiveness, they’re telling nurses, corrections officers, first responders, school staff and other public service workers that their service to their communities doesn’t count.

“Those who choose careers in public service don’t do it to get rich, they do it because they want to make a difference in the lives of others. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program helps them support themselves and their families while doing the essential work they love. Gutting the program will push current workers out of public service and prevent the next generation from stepping in — leaving our already overstretched classrooms, hospitals and communities without the qualified workers we all depend on. We will fight this rule and keep fighting to ensure that workers are protected against unlawful and baseless political attacks like this.”