<p>This is an exerpt from today's Wall Street Journal:</p>
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Uncle Sam Wants You (and Will Pay Off Your Loans)!
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The House [yesterday] voted to pay off up to $60,000 in student loans for lawyers who commit to working as public defenders or prosecutors for at least three years. The bill is estimated to cost some $25 million a year; a similar measure has been reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee this year. The ABA and other legal groups have backed the measure. Heres a press release.</p>
<p>House sponsor David Scott (D-GA) said the bill would help counter high turnover in public defender and prosecutor offices across the country. Our communities suffer when the criminal justice system lacks a sufficient supply of experienced prosecutors and defenders, Scott said in a statement. Criminal caseloads become unmanageable, cases can be delayed or mishandled, serious crimes may go unprosecuted, and innocent defendants may be sent to jail while guilty criminals go free. </p>
<p>Said Paul Logli, chairman of the National District Attorneys Association: It is increasingly difficult for public law offices to retain experienced prosecutors and defenders, said . Most of the young attorneys coming out of law school now are burdened with what most people would consider mortgage-sized debt. </p>
<p>The program would allow eligible attorneys to receive student loan debt repayments of up to $10,000 per year, with a maximum aggregate over time of $60,000. Heres who the bill would cover: state or local prosecutors or local, state or federal public defenders. The bill doesnt apply to federal prosecutors; DOJ has its own loan repayment program.
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