Biden Administration to Forgive $39 Billion in Student Debt
“The US Department of Education will forgive $39 billion in student debt by updating a technical requirement under a long-existing program,” Bloomberg reports.
“The change, announced Friday, will help more than 804,000 borrowers. It comes as the Biden administration pursues alternatives to a $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan that the Supreme Court struck down in June.”
https://politicalwire.com/2023/07/14/biden-administration-to-forgive-39-billion-in-student-debt/
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-14/biden-administration-will-forgive-39-billion-in-student-debt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden's administration will cancel $39 billion in student debt for more than 804,000 borrowers, the Education Department said on Friday, describing the relief as the result of a "fix" to income-driven repayment (IDR) plans.
Borrowers will be eligible for forgiveness if they have made either 20 or 25 years of monthly IDR payments, the department said. The IDR program caps payment requirements for lower-income borrowers and forgives their remaining balance after a set number of years.
The department said the relief addresses what it described as "historical inaccuracies" in the count of payments that qualify toward forgiveness under IDR plans.
"For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness," Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said.
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should also resonate with a lot of those who are troubled by not requiring people to pay their debts, even if they can afford to. By definition, these people have been paying for a very long time.
And of course, congratulations to the over 804,000 borrowers and their families! 