Student Loan Forgiveness thread

[Raptorpat]

On 10/24/2023 at 10:47 PM, Raptorpat said:

This sucker accrued like $98 per month in interest on top of all my other student loans. On the bright side, it's one less accrual stream that I have to worry about over the next 15 years. But the downside is that even with knocking this one out, I still owe more on my student loans than on my mortgage. And it won't practically impact my minimum monthly payments, its share is just redistributed amongst the rest and puts a minimum payment slightly closer to breaking even on total interest.

loooooooool I had to bust out the calculator tonight to figure out my shit and I still accrue $785 in interest per month 

[Raptorpat]

https://twitter.com/potus/status/1745815401273929904

[rpgamer]

Imagine taking out less than 12k in loans.

That's like "gave up half-way through" money.

[Raptorpat]

49 minutes ago, rpgamer said:

Imagine taking out less than 12k in loans.

That's like "gave up half-way through" money.

I think that's a particular target sub-audience. But I also saw this:

Quote

 

One of the benefits of enrolling in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan is that after 20 or 25 years of repayment — depending on the plan — any remaining balance is discharged. The new provision cuts that timeline to 10 years for borrowers with smaller balances.

Beyond that, for every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments, which means those who originally borrowed less than $21,000 will be eligible for forgiveness faster than the 20-year timeline, James Kvaal, undersecretary of Education, said in a press call this week. 

 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/student-loans-accelerated-provision-of-save-plan-provides-forgiveness-for-more-borrowers-in-february-151410506.html

[rpgamer]

Yeah, yeah, it'll help plenty, to be sure. Still, feels like a small first step that hopefully leads to more.

I've also never been clear/certain on the whole discharged/forgiven thing after 20-25 years, and whether that just ends up hurting you on taxes instead..

[Raptorpat]

So for PSLF, the forgiveness after 10 years is clean. For regular 20-25 year forgiveness, that amount would be treated as a taxable income windfall for that tax year. When the Dems flipped passed their first omnibus bill in 2021, they slipped in a (I think) five-year grace period where student loan forgiveness isn't federally taxable (you'd have to check what your individual state would do if it has a state income tax).

So question there is whether that grace period will be extended when it sunsets.

[rpgamer]

Yeah, that shit definitely needs closed. Like, sure, there's a logic to it. But, if you're hitting that period and needing forgiveness, chances are you're in no position to pay the taxes on it either.

[Raptorpat]

Yeah I understand it in the abstract tax sense, in that any "windfall" whether actual cashola or debt forgiveness is income on a balance sheet. But when you're talking about forgiveness after a means-based repayment plan, it's like kicking someone while they're down.

[Raptorpat]

First batch of SAVE forgiveness, about $1.2b for 150,000+ people who borrowed less than $12k and have been stuck in repayment for at least ten years.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2024/02/21/biden-cancels-student-loan-debt-save-plan/72676148007/

[André Toulon]

I need a medical forgiveness plan

[SwimOdin]

1 hour ago, André Toulon said:

I need a medical forgiveness plan

Saaaaaaaame.

[katt_goddess]

I heard someone mention a medical forgiveness plan? 

[Icarus27k]

I need a "guilty and regretful for all the dumb and evil things I've ever done" forgiveness plan. 

[Raptorpat]

the Catholics call that a "confessional"

[Sieg67]

It's nice to see some student loan forgiveness but what I'd really like to see is a crack down on predatory loans.  Something like a cap on interest. 

I would also like to see the price of education go down. There's no reason why books need to cost so much or why the latest version is required when the previous version is essentially identical.

[katt_goddess]

47 minutes ago, Sieg67 said:

It's nice to see some student loan forgiveness but what I'd really like to see is a crack down on predatory loans.  Something like a cap on interest. 

I would also like to see the price of education go down. There's no reason why books need to cost so much or why the latest version is required when the previous version is essentially identical.

So much this.

There should be no reason for a college loan of say $20,000 total [ for all the years ] to cost $80,000 by the time you pay it off especially when you are paying it off the entire time. If you are paying something off, it should go down consistently, not up.

And don't even get me started on the price of 'textbooks' and new versions that changed exactly one word around somewhere so now the old one is crap and you can't sell it back for the pittance allowed at the store. I have a History of Hello Kitty [ the business itself ] somewhere around here that was labeled a textbook for some class somewhere and the price tag is $250. 

[ found it ]

[GunStarHero]

Found myself in a rollercoaster of a situation with my student loans. I had my funding for my original college taken away by my father (don't be gay, kids) and I wound up taking out a loan at ITT Tech and graduating there with an associate's degree. Managed to have perfect grades the entire time so I was top of my class, which is misleading by the way, technically I was top of all graduating students (around 100 people) that quarter but my graduating class by field was 3 people. Anyways that was important because they offered to cut my loans down by a massive 70%. 

Struggled to pay my loans off at first and they were garnishing my wages but I was contacted by the Department of Treasury and given a weird deal where I would surrender all tax returns for the next 10 years, regardless of whether or not it exceeded or fell short of my total amount owed. But I had to get some money back every year or it voided the agreement. I threaded the needle and had many years where I had super small tax returns. At the 9 year mark I was informed my loans had been forgiven by the Biden administration and I just needed to submit the proper paperwork. This was in regards to ITT Tech, however, versus blanket student loan forgiveness. 

Thought that was the end of it but late last year I got a message from my estranged mother talking about some letter she got in the mail addressed to me. Three times. I had her send one over and it was this weird looking Treasury document that looked poorly copied, had sharpie and pen revisions and even highlighter marks. Did not look legit at all. Well it arrived a 4th time so I said fuck it and sent a skeptical email to the person on the letter. She said I was owed a refund for what I had paid during my agreement and just needed to confirm my current address, which she also already had. I confirmed, thinking it might be some weird scam. A couple weeks later I got like 5 checks in the mail for the total amount I had paid for my loan. Then my credit score went down 30 points. Magical. 

[André Toulon]

Wait, so you got it all back....like the surrendered tax refunds, or just the garnished wages.

It's early and I'm already on j #2 so I might be misreading this....in fact I'm sure I am. Just making peace with im getting dumber the older I get

[scoobdog]

That sounds like it might have been part of the settlement that was reached in '22 and cleared of challenges by the SCOTUS last April, but, it's a little weird that Treasury would be holding on to money that's already been paid toward a loan.  Sounds like it was a really complicated settlement.

[GunStarHero]

As far as I can tell it was regarding the situation with ITT Tech that got them shut down. I had multiple loans out with them to begin attending and one was very small and I managed to pay it off early thanks to the discount. At least one of the other loans was federally backed so that was the one that came back to me. 

[discolé monade]

On 3/29/2024 at 8:55 AM, André Toulon said:

 

It's early and I'm already on j #2  

[Raptorpat]

Biden to Make Second Attempt at Large-Scale Student Loan Forgiveness

The administration will soon issue a proposed regulation that could slash student loan balances for millions of Americans

By Andrew Restuccia

Updated April 5, 2024 1:02 pm ET

Quote

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration is poised to issue a proposal aimed at reducing or eliminating student loan balances for millions of borrowers, according to people familiar with the matter, marking President Biden’s second attempt at large-scale loan forgiveness. 

The regulations, which are set to be issued as soon as next week, come after the Supreme Court last year overturned the administration’s first debt cancellation plan, which would have wiped away up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year. 

Biden is planning to outline the broad strokes of the new proposal during a speech on Monday in Madison, Wis., where he is expected to tout his administration’s wide-ranging efforts to chip away at the student debt burden facing more than 40 million Americans, the people said. A White House spokesman declined to comment.

The president’s advisers hope to use the rules to begin canceling waves of student debt in the run-up to the November election, but the exact timing of the effort will depend on how quickly the administration can finalize the regulations. The debt forgiveness push could give Biden a political boost, especially among young people, amid polls that show him trailing former President Donald Trump, his GOP opponent, in several key states. But the proposal, once it is completed, is likely to face legal action from Republican attorneys general, who will again try to convince the courts to block it.

Just hours after the Supreme Court in June 2023 killed his first student loan forgiveness plan, Biden pledged to try again using different legal authority. That kicked off a lengthy and bureaucratic process led by the Education Department to craft regulations that define under what circumstances the federal government can “waive,” or eliminate, federal student debt. The administration is basing the regulations on a 1965 law called the Higher Education Act.

The proposed regulation is expected to outline several categories that would qualify borrowers for debt relief, including financial hardship, the people said. For example, borrowers with high debt loads and low incomes could see their loan balances reduced or eliminated under the plan. It could also outline a path to relief for borrowers who have carried their debt for decades; who now owe more than their initial loan amount because interest has piled up; or who are eligible for relief through other federal programs, but haven’t applied. 

Administration officials are developing estimates for how many borrowers could see relief through the plan. Outside experts said the proposal could lower or eliminate student debt balances for millions of people if the administration opts to embrace the most ambitious version of the regulations that have been discussed. 

The Higher Education Act requires that the Education Department conduct a so-called negotiated rule-making to develop the regulations, an unusual and slow process that isn’t required for most other regulations. Some in the administration feared the rules would get caught up in the government’s bureaucracy for months, making it unlikely that borrowers would see any relief before the election. 

But the administration moved quickly, holding a series of mandatory public meetings in recent months with stakeholders—including borrowers, student loan industry officials and representatives of colleges and universities. That part of the process ended earlier this year, allowing the Education Department to craft the regulations based on the stakeholder feedback.

Once the proposed regulation is released, the administration is expected to collect additional public comments and issue a final rule in the coming months. After it is finalized, the Education Department could move quickly to forgive debt because the government already has much of the data needed to make its determinations about who qualifies for relief, including borrower income. 

Administration officials expect that the final rule will be challenged in court, but they think they are on solid legal footing. The new approach, they argue, is more tailored because it outlines specific conditions for debt cancellation, a contrast with the more sweeping plan that was overturned by the Supreme Court. 

The administration used the Heroes Act to underpin Biden’s first loan-forgiveness program. But the Supreme Court ruled that the administration had overstepped its authority by using the law, which allows the education secretary to modify student aid programs to respond to emergencies, to forgive loans for tens of millions of Americans. 

A handful of Republican state attorneys general signaled on Friday their intentions to bring legal challenges to the program once it is finalized. 

“It appears that the proposal will be another attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s initial ruling to help the President garner votes in November,” said a spokeswoman for Austin Knudsen, Montana’s attorney general.

“[A]s hard-working Americans struggle to buy groceries, Biden thumbs his nose at the court like he has done with so many issues, including immigration, and does what he wants,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement. “Not only is this unfair, but it violates the separation of powers.”

As the new proposed regulations worked their way through the rule-making process, the Biden administration has separately moved forward with more narrow student debt forgiveness for nearly four million Americans totaling more than $140 billion. The administration also revamped the process for income-driven loan repayment, reworked the rules for public-service loan forgiveness and provided debt relief to people with disabilities and borrowers who say they were cheated by their schools or whose institutions closed suddenly. 

With seven months to Election Day, Biden is underperforming with young voters, a constituency that forms a central plank of the Democratic coalition. He is winning only 50% of voters under age 30 in recent Wall Street Journal surveys—10 percentage points more than Trump. In 2020, Biden won this group by 25 points.

Ken Thomas and Jan Wolfe contributed to this article.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/biden-to-make-second-attempt-at-large-scale-student-loan-forgiveness-ef1da5fe

[Raptorpat]

Here is the press release on the new plan: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/08/president-joe-biden-outlines-new-plans-to-deliver-student-debt-relief-to-over-30-million-americans-under-the-biden-harris-administration/

The copypasta upshot: 

• In total, these plans would fully eliminate accrued interest for 23 million borrowers, would cancel the full amount of student debt for over 4 million borrowers, and provide more than 10 million borrowers with at least $5,000 in debt relief or more.
• cancel up to $20,000 of the amount a borrower’s balance has grown due to unpaid interest on their loans after entering repayment, regardless of their income. Low and middle-income borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan or any other income-driven repayment (IDR) plan would be eligible for the entire amount their balance has grown since entering repayment to be canceled under the Administration’s plans. This group of borrowers includes single borrowers who earn $120,000 or less and married borrowers who earn $240,000 or less.
• automatically cancel debt for borrowers otherwise eligible for relief through the SAVE plan, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or other forgiveness opportunities like closed school loan discharges but who have not successfully applied for that assistance.
•  cancel student debt for borrowers who first entered repayment 20 or more years ago. Borrowers with only undergraduate debt would qualify for forgiveness if they first entered repayment 20 years ago (on or before July 1, 2005), and borrowers with any graduate school debt would qualify if they first entered repayment 25 or more years ago (on or before July 1, 2000).
• cancel student debt for loans associated with institutions or programs that lost their eligibility to participate in the Federal student aid program or were denied recertification because they cheated or took advantage of students. Further, borrowers who attended institutions or programs that closed and failed to provide sufficient value— for example that leave graduates with unaffordable loan payments or earnings no better than what someone with a high school diploma earns— would be eligible for relief
• cancel student debt for borrowers experiencing hardship in their daily lives that prevents them from fully paying back their loans now or in the future.

Honestly if no caveats, this is an improvement for my situation over the original blanket forgiveness program. So if this comes to fruition I'd have to thank Republicans for falsifying standing to get the original program tossed.

[Icarus27k]

Edit: Nope. Decided to not post about my personal student loans.

Edited April 11 by Icarus27k

[Gemini]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/student-loan-forgiveness-6-1-billion-art-institutes-who-qualifies/

[Raptorpat]

Quote

A pair of federal judges on Monday halted key parts of President Joe Biden’s new student loan repayment program, imperiling the administration’s plan to lower monthly payments and erase student debt for millions of Americans ahead of the November election.

The two court rulings, in response to lawsuits filed by Republican-led states, prohibit the Education Department from moving ahead with major provisions of Biden’s SAVE loan repayment program. The decisions prevent the Biden administration from further reducing the monthly payments of millions of borrowers as planned in July or canceling more debt under the program.

 

...

District Judge John A. Ross of the Eastern District of Missouri blocked the Education Department from carrying out “any further loan forgiveness for borrowers” under the SAVE program until he decides the full case.

Ross ruled that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and other GOP states who sued were likely to succeed on their claims that the Biden administration lacks the authority to forgive student debt under the SAVE program.

He agreed that the program’s loan forgiveness provisions would likely harm Missouri because it would reduce the fees that the Education Department pays to the Missouri Higher Education Assistance Agency. That’s the same state-created entity that was at the center of the Supreme Court case over Biden’s first mass student debt relief program.

...

Meanwhile in Kansas, District Judge Daniel Crabtree blocked the Education Department from implementing a part of the SAVE program that would further lower some borrowers’ monthly payments, in some cases cutting them in half.

The SAVE plan has already lowered monthly payments — or eliminated them entirely for low-income borrowers — for millions of borrowers. But a second phase of the program, which was set to take effect July 1, was supposed to recalculate borrowers’ monthly payments and cap them at 5 percent of their discretionary income, down from the current 10 percent.

Crabtree ruled that the Republican states were likely to succeed on their claims that the Education Department lacked clear authority from Congress to enact the SAVE plan.

But he declined to block the entirety of the program, citing concerns about the feasibility of unwinding the parts of the program that had already been implemented. He also wrote that the Republican states’ delay in filing the lawsuit months after the plan was announced undercut their arguments that there was an immediate need to block the entire program.

The Education Department did not immediately have a comment on the ruling.

The order from the Missouri-based judge blocking the loan forgiveness provisions takes effect immediately. The Kansas-based judge deferred his injunction blocking the lower monthly payments until June 30 to give the administration time to appeal the order.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/24/courts-block-biden-student-loan-repayment-plan-00164771

[discolé monade]

did NOT see that coming. 

/s/

[Raptorpat]

The current forgiveness plan is just to waive accrued interest so that loan holders' future payments can actually apply to principal. It's not even a forgiveness of the actual loan. The whole issue, at least from my perspective/experience, is that graduates accrue an interest backlog while their income ramps up so that once they make a sufficient amount to pay a meaningful amount beyond the minimum they're already stuck in the hole despite having been in full repayment compliance the whole time. It's disgusting how much money I've thrown away to interest while my balance remains flat.

It's pure spite.

[katt_goddess]

Forgive PPPE loans to themselves? YES, we HAVE to vote this through immediately because we shouldn't have to pay back money that we literally just signed over to ourselves.

Forgive student loans/at least make them more reasonable to pay back? NO! It will ruin all the things and destroy the world as we know it because people shouldn't just get money for doing nothing!

*holds out hand for another raise

[Raptorpat]

Quote

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court blocked the implementation of the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, which would have lowered monthly payments for millions of borrowers.

In a ruling Thursday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion for an administrative stay filed by a group of Republican-led states seeking to invalidate the administration’s entire student loan forgiveness program. The court’s order prohibits the administration from implementing the parts of the SAVE plan that were not already blocked by lower court rulings.

The ruling comes the same day that the Biden administration announced another round of student loan forgiveness, this time totaling $1.2 billion in forgiveness for roughly 35,000 borrowers who are eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The PSLF program, which provides relief for teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public servants who make 120 qualifying monthly payments, was originally passed in 2007. But for years, borrowers ran into strict rules and servicer errors that prevented them from having their debt cancelled. The Biden administration adjusted some of the programs rules and retroactively gave many borrowers credits towards their required payments.

Two separate legal challenges to Biden’s SAVE plan have worked their way through the courts. In June, federal judges in Kansas and Missouri issued separate rulings that blocked much of the administration’s plan to provide a faster path towards loan cancellation and reduce monthly income-based repayment from 10% to 5% of a borrower’s discretionary income. Those injunctions did not affect debt that had already been forgiven.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that allowed the department to proceed with the lowered monthly payments. Thursday’s order from the 8th circuit blocks all aspects of the SAVE plan.

The Education Department said it was reviewing the ruling. “Our Administration will continue to aggressively defend the SAVE Plan — which has been helping over 8 million borrowers access lower monthly payments, including 4.5 million borrowers who have had a zero dollar payment each month,” the administration said. “And, we won’t stop fighting against Republican elected officials’ efforts to raise costs on millions of their own constituents’ student loan payments.”

https://apnews.com/article/student-loans-biden-debt-relief-appeals-court-abd06890b12073bd39a08deef83a9158

[Jman]

8 hours ago, Raptorpat said:

https://apnews.com/article/student-loans-biden-debt-relief-appeals-court-abd06890b12073bd39a08deef83a9158

Another item that in a sane election where the electorate didn't vote on vibes, would be an easy thing to campaign for.

Edited July 19 by Jman

[Raptorpat]

My aunt was probing me yesterday about my thoughts on JD Vance and his "picture perfect American story" and I should have just told her that I don't give a shit about the dude's background if his party's agenda is just to fuck me out of spite.

[Raptorpat]

Quote

The U.S. Department of Education says it will pause millions of student loan borrowers’ payments while it defends its relief plan against legal challenges.

Borrowers enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, known as SAVE, will be placed “in an interest-free forbearance,” according to a statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/19/education-department-to-pause-save-student-loan-payments-amid-legal-battle.html

[Raptorpat]

Quote

Am I eligible for this student debt relief?

We’re currently working to finalize new regulations that include who may receive loan forgiveness. Note that the final regulations would apply only to borrowers with loans that have entered repayment. Our proposed regulations would authorize the Secretary of Education to provide partial or full debt relief to borrowers in the following circumstances:

 

1. Borrowers who owe more than they did at the start of repayment:
   • Your current balance on an unconsolidated Direct Loan, ED-held Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loan*, or ED-held Perkins loan* is greater than the balance of that loan when it entered repayment.
   
   
   • Your current balance on a consolidation loan is greater than the balance of the loans included in your consolidation loan when the original loans entered repayment.
   
   
   •  
2. Borrowers who first entered repayment many years ago: You have only undergraduate loans, and at least one of those loans entered repayment on or before July 1, 2005. Or, you have at least one graduate loan, and at least one of your undergraduate or graduate loans entered repayment on or before July 1, 2000.


3. Borrowers who are otherwise eligible for loan forgiveness but have not yet applied: You haven’t enrolled in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan but would be eligible for relief. Or you would be eligible for closed school discharge or other types of forgiveness opportunities but haven’t successfully applied for that relief.


4. Borrowers who enrolled in low-financial-value programs:
   • You attended an institution that failed to provide sufficient financial value.
   
   
   • You attended an institution that failed one of ED’s accountability standards for institutions.

All borrowers who have at least one ED-held loan, regardless of the status of their loans, are receiving an email explaining this potential debt relief and how to opt out of it.

*Please note that this opt-out is only for loans held by ED. It does not apply to commercially managed FFEL loans or Perkins Loans held by institutions.

Quote

What will happen for borrowers who receive debt relief?

If the regulations are implemented as proposed, they would authorize the Secretary of Education to:

 

• Cancel some or all debt for federal student loan borrowers who owe more than they did at the start of repayment in one of the following two ways:
  • Cancel up to $20,000 of the amount by which a borrower’s current balance is greater than the balance on their federal student loans upon entering repayment. All borrowers would be eligible for this debt cancellation, either up to the amount by which the borrower’s current balance exceeds the principal and interest balance when the loans entered repayment or $20,000, whichever is less. For borrowers with consolidation loans, we would compare the initial balances of the underlying loans included in the consolidation loan to the current balance of the consolidation loan.
  
  
  • For borrowers enrolled in an IDR plan and who meet the income requirement, cancel all principal and interest above the principal and interest balance at the time their federal student loans entered repayment. Borrowers would be eligible if they earn $120,000 or less per year individually or as married filing separately, $180,000 or less per year as head of household, or $240,000 or less per year as married borrowers who file joint taxes or a qualifying surviving spouse. For borrowers with consolidation loans, we would compare the initial balances of the underlying loans included in the consolidation loan to the current balance of the consolidation loan.
  
  
  •  
• Cancel some or all debt for federal student loan borrowers who would otherwise be eligible for loan forgiveness under IDR plans but are not enrolled, or who would be eligible for closed school discharge or other types of forgiveness opportunities but haven’t successfully applied for that relief.


• Cancel some or all debt for federal student loan borrowers who entered repayment a long time ago. Borrowers with only undergraduate debt would qualify for forgiveness if they entered repayment on or before July 1, 2005, and borrowers with graduate school debt or a mix undergraduate and graduate debt would qualify for forgiveness if they entered repayment on or before July 1, 2000. For borrowers with consolidation loans, we would check when the underlying loans initially entered repayment (not when the consolidation loan entered repayment). Loans that meet these criteria could be fully forgiven.


• Cancel some or all debt for student loan borrowers who attended schools that lost eligibility, or closed while at risk of losing eligibility, to give out federal student loans, or that had programs that provided low financial value. This includes when
  • a school fails to meet standards based on student outcomes, including when schools close before a program review, investigation, or other action was resolved; or
  
  
  • a non-degree program has closed because it failed to meet gainful employment (GE) requirements, which require programs to result in sufficient financial value for students. Programs fail GE when borrowers have unaffordable debts or make too little earnings, based on measures set by ED.
  
  
  • Loans taken out to attend these schools or programs during the periods described above could be fully forgiven.

You also may separately qualify for one of our existing student loan forgiveness programs.

https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/debt-relief-info

[Raptorpat]

If I fully comprehend, assuming the Grad PLUS loans aren't eligible and I only count the backlog interest on my direct unsubsidized loans, it would still be about $10.5K in forgiveness based on my current balance. A few K more if the capitalized interest that converted into principal counts too.

[Raptorpat]

Quote

A federal appeals court has sided with Republican-controlled states to deliver another setback to Joe Biden’s student loan relief plan designed to reduce monthly payments for millions of lower-income graduates and speed up debt forgiveness for some borrowers.

A unanimous, unsigned ruling issued on Friday by three Republican-appointed judges in Missouri blocked further implementation of the Saving on a Valuable Education (Save) plan – the Department of Education’s means-tested debt relief program that is being challenged by seven Republican-led states.

The three St Louis-based eighth circuit court of appeals justices said the states bringing the challenge “have demonstrated at least a ‘fair chance’ that they will ultimately prevail”. Two of the judges were appointed by Donald Trump, the other by George W Bush.

Friday’s court order cannot be applied retrospectively, the judges said. More than 8 million people are already enrolled, and a total of $5.5bn has already been granted to 414,000 borrowers through the Save plan, according to the Department of Education.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/aug/10/court-rules-against-biden-student-debt-relief-program

[Raptorpat]

this is realistically the last relief anyone is going to see for a while:

Quote

Biden-Harris Administration Approves Additional $4.28 Billion in Student Debt Relief for Nearly 55,000 Public Service Workers
Latest action brings approved relief to almost $180 billion for 4.9 million borrowers
December 20, 2024

The Biden-Harris Administration announced today the approval of $4.28 billion in additional student loan relief for 54,900 borrowers across the country who work in public service. This relief—which is the result of significant fixes that the Administration has made to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program—brings the total loan forgiveness by the Administration to approximately $180 billion for nearly five million Americans, including $78 billion for 1,062,870 borrowers through PSLF. 

https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/biden-harris-administration-approves-additional-428-billion-student-debt-relief-nearly-55000-public-service-workers-0