Biden administration plans more student debt cuts

The Department of Education on Wednesday said in the coming days it would email all debtors with outstanding federal student loans. The emails will notify borrowers about upcoming changes to the administration’s student loan forgiveness program that could cancel the debt of more than 25 million Americans. The department will finalize the rules for who will receive forgiveness for their student loans this fall. The Biden administration has already canceled repayment of nearly 5 million Americans’ student loans.

Who would benefit from these changes? The proposal would forgive part or all of the debts of borrowers who owe more now than they did immediately after leaving college, the DOE said. It would also cancel all or part of the debts of those who have been paying off student loans for more than 20 years. Those with student loans who have not yet applied for relief and those who went to institutions that failed to meet DOE accountability standards could also see some or all of their balance cleared.

What is the status of lawsuits to stop the program? The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month blocked the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan, from going into effect. In June of last year, the U.S. Supreme Court also ruled that the executive branch could not unilaterally cancel student loan debts.

Dig deeper: Read Jordan J. Ballor’s column in WORLD Opinions about how federal involvement in higher education complicates the country’s educational system.