Disabled Former Cop in Student Loan Story Gets Her Debt Forgiven
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – March 2, 2011 The Department of Education has finally forgiven the student debt of disabled former police officer Tina Brooks—who we featured in our Feb. 13 story about the government’s broken program for forgiving the federal student loans of borrowers who become seriously disabled. Brooks, who fractured her spine when...
Education Dept. Pledges to Overhaul Dysfunctional Disability Review Program
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – Feb. 24, 2011 After an investigation by ProPublica last week found that the Department of Education’s bureaucratic program for forgiving the federal student loans of disabled borrowers has kept many disabled applicants in debt, the department said this week that it will overhaul the troubled program. “This system must work...
The Reform for Disabled Borrowers That the Education Dept. Refuses to Adopt
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – Feb. 16, 2011 On Monday, we reported on the broken Department of Education program confronting borrowers who become disabled after taking out federal student loans. Although former students who develop severe and lasting disabilities are legally entitled to get these loans forgiven, we found that they face a dysfunctional and...
Education Department Bureaucracy Keeps Disabled Borrowers in Debt
By Sasha Chavkin, Cezary Podkul, Jeannette Neumann, and Ben Protess ProPublica — Feb. 13, 2011 Tina Brooks can’t sit or stand for more than half an hour before the pain in her lower back becomes intolerable. She suffers severe headaches and memory loss, and she has lost most of the vision in her left eye....
Gulf Spill Paymaster Acknowledges Transparency Problems and Outlines Fixes
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – Dec. 14, 2010 As the damage claims process for the Gulf oil spill moves into its second phase–from issuing emergency payments to considering final claims–administrator Kenneth Feinberg yesterday unveiled a variety of improvements that he says will increase transparency and offer more options to claimants. Feinberg said there had been...
Gulf Spill Fund Offers Little Information to Claimants
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – Oct. 14, 2010 Many claimants seeking compensation for damages from the Gulf oil spill say they are struggling to get basic information about what is happening with their claims. Dozens of claimants have told ProPublica they are having trouble getting information about their submissions, and applicants say that the claims...
BP Leaves Many Damage Claims Waiting in Limbo
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – Aug. 3, 2010 BP appears to be delaying decisions about the validity of many claims for damages from the Gulf oil spill, leaving claimants frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles and confusing requests for more documentation. The company’s claims process is guided by the Oil Pollution Act, a 1990 federal law that...
New Safety Training Finally Begins For Cleanup Workers
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – July 20, 2010 Oil cleanup workers on offshore vessels will begin receiving longer and more thorough safety training today, fulfilling a pledge by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to improve training after it acknowledged, as we reported, that the previous course was inadequate. The training will increase in length...
OSHA Director: Offshore Workers Will Get More Training
tendances et de grande qualite By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – June 21, 2010 Last week, we reported that experts and health officials are concerned that Gulf cleanup workers aren’t getting enough safety training. On Thursday, C-SPAN asked the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration about our reporting — and he agreed that “more...
OSHA Head Agrees: Cleanup Workers Need More Training
By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica — June 17, 2010 As we’ve reported, workplace safety experts and a federal official have expressed concern that the safety trainings that Gulf cleanup workers are receiving are too short [1] and fail to prepare them [2] for the health risks they are facing. This morning on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” the...
Gulf Cleanup Training Ignores Advice From Health Agency, Official Says
des robes de mariee personnalisees By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – June 17, 2010 As we’ve reported, workplace safety experts have expressed concern that Gulf oil spill responders aren’t getting enough safety training. On Wednesday, we spoke with a federal official who said the four-hour safety course that BP is providing to Gulf cleanup workers lacks...
Experts: Safety Training For Gulf Workers May Be Inadequate
tendances et de grande qualité By Sasha Chavkin ProPublica – June 16, 2010 As Gulf cleanup workers continue to report health problems, a workplace safety expert and a leading Louisiana health official have expressed concern that BP’s four-hour training course for responders may not be adequately preparing them to work in contaminated areas. Workers must...
