Apropos of nothing, Republican Florida Senator (and bottled water aficionado) Marco Rubio reintroduced legislation Thursday that would provide debtors a one year payment deferment for student loans if the individual survives a terrorist attack.
While others are discussing student loan forgiveness and free community college educations, the incumbent Senator and one-time GOP golden boy tried to get this legislation passed in 2016, but couldn’t even muster support for the measure in the then Republican-majority Senate. The measure, called the Terrorism Survivors Student Loan Deferment Act, doesn’t define what terrorism is, nor does it give any deferment to victims of other types of violence, like domestic violence or hate crimes.
“We should do everything in our power to help those who survive a terrorist attack to get their life back on track,” Rubio said in a statement. “While in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, survivors like those of the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting, can be eligible for some relief, existing law does not automatically recognize these types of extraordinary circumstances. Giving survivors some time to regroup by delaying their student loan payments is just commonsense.”