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    September 2023 Washington Letter

     

    Federal Government

    Student Debt Update

    Student loan borrowers received some relief during the COVD-19 pandemic when federal student loan payments were suspended, but affected borrowers are now expected to resume making regular payments beginning in October 2023.

    This Month's Articles

    Advocate of the Month

    We are pleased to honor Amanda Brown as our Advocate of the Month for September 2023 for serving as the Director of the Young Lawyer Division’s Disaster Legal Services (DLS) program. Amanda is the founder and executive director of Lagniappe Law Lab, a Louisiana-based justice technology nonprofit, and has been an ABA member for 7 years. She was recently reappointed to serve a second term as YLD's DLS program director, and has held roles with the ABA's Standing Committees on Delivery of Legal Services and Disaster Response and Preparedness, in addition to serving on the Governing Council of the Center for Innovation. When not working on disaster legal services or access to justice initiatives, you can find Amanda walking around the French Quarter in New Orleans with her dogs Toby and Delta.

    Legislative Research Tip - Congressional Budget Cost Estimates

    Researchers can now find cost estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) for select bills and resolutions in Congress.gov. To find reports with details of the CBO’s analysis, enter hasCBOCostEstimate:”Y” in the search box under the Legislation tab; narrow the search to a particular congress from 1997 to the present. Then find the report linked under "More on This Bill" on the bill’s Summary page on Congress.gov. Visit the Congress.gov Search Tools page for additional search field instructions.

    About the Washington Letter

    The ABA Washington Letter is a monthly publication produced by the Governmental Affairs Office to report and analyze congressional and executive branch action on legislative issues of interest to the ABA and the legal profession. The newsletter highlights ABA involvement in the federal legislative process and focuses on the association's legislative and governmental priorities and other issues on which the ABA has policy.

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    Questions? Contact Allison Rosenstock, 202-667-1771