Student Loans Could Be Forgiven in Exchange for Volunteer Work
Source: Newsweek
Published May 13, 2025 at 11:38 AM EDT
The dwindling ranks of first responder volunteers would be boosted if those giving up their time were eligible for student loan forgiveness, according to a Democratic congressman.
New York Representative Dan Goldman has authored a bill allowing volunteer firefighters and EMTs to obtain federal student loan forgiveness after meeting certain criteria. He is calling the bill the Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Student Debt (HEROES) Act of 2025. Newsweek reached out to Goldman via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Volunteer firefighters account for 65 percent of all crews across the United States. Of all the fire departments registered in the U.S., 69.8 percent are wholly volunteer outfits, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Just 9.6 percent were listed as career departments, with the others containing a mix of staff; 15.5 percent were "mostly volunteer," while 5.1 percent were "mostly career." But the number of volunteers has been steadily declining in a worrying national trend. Goldman hopes his HEROES Act loan forgiveness plan, if passed, will encourage more people to sign up as volunteers and stay with it long-term.
What To Know
Some 90.7 percent of fire departments in New York are defined as volunteer departments, with just 4.2 percent listed as career departments by the U.S. Fire Administration. The remaining percentage comprises departments that say they are a mix of the two. But fewer people are signing up as firefighter volunteers. New York State Assemblyman Bill Conrad told the BBC last year that since the late 1990s, "we've seen a 32 percent decrease in the amount of volunteering. It's a state-wide problem, and what's also shocking is that the amount of calls has gone up 29 percent."
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/volunteers-student-loan-forgiveness-firefighters-2071626
Link to tweet
@RepDanGoldman
·
Follow
Volunteer firefighters make up 65% of our fire service and risk their lives daily to protect us—yet they’re denied the federal support given to their peers.
My HEROES Act would extend federal loan forgiveness to volunteer firefighters and EMTs who make us all safer.
Kevin Frey
@KevinFreyTV
Volunteer firefighters are the backbone of fire response across New York State — making up approx 90% of firefighters overall.
In recent decades, their ranks have gotten dramatically smaller & older.
First on @NY1: @RepDanGoldman is intro'ing a bill to reverse those trends.
Image
10:50 AM · May 13, 2025
Growing up here in Philly, place that had Ben Franklin's "Bucket Brigade" back in the 1700s, I really didn't run into the concept of "volunteer firefighters" until my sisters moved out to the 'burbs. I just assumed that the "larger" (in quotes) towns had paid ones but apparently not.
= new reply since forum marked as read
