Biden’s student loan-forgiveness plan gets blocked (again), putting relief in limbo as the election nears
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The last straw… President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program hit another red light. A judge ruled last week that the Biden admin’s plan to forgive student loans for up to 25M Americans would remain blocked for two more weeks. The first halt came earlier this month after seven GOP-led states sued against the revamped aid package, arguing it was still illegal.
Unsend: This summer the Biden admin hyped up millions of student-loan borrowers in an email blast saying how some — or all — of their debt could get canceled. The updated plan was scheduled to roll in October.
Adding to stress: The yearlong student-loan on-ramp — which prevented missed payments from being reported to credit agencies — ends September 30.
Payback probs… The Biden admin has been pushing its debt-relief Plan B since the Supreme Court struck down its broader forgiveness program last year. In August, POTUS unveiled the SAVE repayment plan, cutting monthly payments for low-income borrowers. But that was also blocked by lawsuits this month, putting at least 8M borrowers in forbearance (temporary payment suspensions) and leaving millions more in limbo.
VP Kamala Harris had vowed to expand loan forgiveness during the Biden admin, but hasn’t given deets on what she’d do if elected POTUS.
Former President Trump has opposed canceling student debt, but has supported income-based repayment plans.
A passing grade isn’t always enough… Biden’s forgiven $168B worth of student loans for nearly 5M Americans, but that’s well short of the 20M borrowers he'd originally pledged to provide full relief for. The latest roadblock could end the White House's goal of providing more aid before the election. While Biden’s on his way out of office, student loans remain a critical issue. Nearly half of voters in a recent survey said canceling debt was important in this year’s elections. About a fifth said student-loan debt would have a major influence on their vote.