[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9557-9558]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORT DEFERMENT FOR ACTIVE CANCER TREATMENT ACT

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

[[Page 9558]]


  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, Representative Ed Perlmutter and I 
will be introducing the Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act.
  In 2017, more than 1.6 million Americans will be diagnosed with 
cancer, and many of them are currently repaying their student loans. 
For these individuals, a cancer diagnosis goes beyond the exhaustive 
treatment and increased medical expenditures and often leads to 
unemployment or underemployment. As a response to this growing problem, 
I have introduced the Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act.
  This commonsense bill will enable cancer patients to defer payments 
on their public student loans while actively receiving treatment 
without interest accruing during this difficult period, helping them, 
thusly, to avoid defaults. This measure will also help lenders by 
empowering borrowers to continue repaying their public loans after 
their treatment ends, leading to fewer defaults.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join Mr. Perlmutter and me 
in standing with cancer patients throughout our Nation and supporting 
the Deferment for Active Cancer Treatment Act.

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