Alexandria, Va. — To address the growing crisis of record levels of student loan debt in the U.S., ABI will hold a symposium on May 30 featuring academics, consumer bankruptcy practitioners, bankruptcy judges, consumers and policy-makers discussing the causes, consequences and possible reform of the student debt problem. The Student Loan Debt Crisis Symposium, funded in part by a grant from the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges Endowment for Education, will take place at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt and has crossed the $1.2 trillion mark — with $1 trillion of that in the form of federal student loan debt. More than 7 million borrowers are now in default on their loans, and changes to the Bankruptcy Code in the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act made it more difficult for debtors to discharge their student loan debts in bankruptcy. Following up on the November publication of ABI’s book Graduating with Debt: Student Loans Under the Bankruptcy Code and an abiWorkshop highlighting the issues surrounding student loan debt and bankruptcy, the Symposium will take a broader look at the student debt crisis — as well as possible solutions. Leading experts will participate on panel discussions that include: • What We Have: An Overview of the Student Loan Process • What We Have Is Broken: Problems with the Current System and System-Wide Fixes • Economic Effect of the Increase in Student Borrowing and Debt • Default and Distress Issues • How Hard Is the “Hard” in “Hardship”? The Current State of § 523(a)(8) • The Chapter 13 Option • Avoiding Bankruptcy: What Options Exist (and Are Accessible)? • The Easy Fix: Is Repealing § 523(a)(8) Really the Answer? To view the full roster of speakers, please click here: http://www.abiworld.org/SDS14/schedule.html Members of the press that would like to attend the ABI Student Loan Debt Crisis Symposium on May 30 should contact ABI Public Affairs Manager John Hartgen at 703-894-5935 or [email protected]. ### ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than13,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.