Biden races to enact new student loan forgiveness plan ahead of November

[Uncle Joe]

President Joe Biden during a visit to Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 26, 2024. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

(snip)

After the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first plan last year, the president vowed to pursue another pathway to delivering student loan debt relief. Since then, the Department of Education has been conducting a formal and lengthy process, known as negotiated rulemaking, to develop a new student loan forgiveness program.

(snip)

The new plans target specific groups of borrowers. If implemented as proposed, borrowers could see relief if they fall into any of the following categories:

* Those who have balances bigger than what they originally borrowed due to interest.
* Those who already qualify for student loan forgiveness under existing programs but have not applied.
* Those who entered repayment at least 20 years ago.
* Those who enrolled in “low financial value” programs, which left students in debt but without good job prospects.
* Those experiencing financial hardship.

(snip)

Even though Biden’s sweeping student loan forgiveness got knocked down by the Supreme Court, his administration has still canceled more student loan debt than under any other president – mostly by using existing programs. His administration has made it easier for certain groups of borrowers – such as public-sector workers, including teachers; disabled borrowers; and people who were defrauded by for-profit colleges – to qualify for student loan debt forgiveness.

So far, 4 million people have seen their federal student debt canceled under Biden, totaling $146 billion.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/08/politics/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-proposals/index.html