A federal court recently decided President Biden can't cancel any student debt right now — but that doesn't mean the plan is permanently blocked. The court placed a temporary stay on the Biden administration from canceling any student debt as it reviews the legality of the broad loan forgiveness. This was in response to a request filed by six Republican-led states seeking to permanently block the plan from rolling out. So, how does this affect borrowers applying for relief?
A federal court recently decided President Joe Biden can't cancel any student debt right now — but that doesn't mean the plan is permanently blocked. On Friday evening, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals placed a temporary stay on the Biden administration from actually canceling any student debt as it …
While this was the first case to succeed in temporarily halting Biden’s plan, it was by no means the first attempt to challenge debt relief. At least five other major lawsuits have been filed by conservative groups attempting to block the loan forgiveness from rolling out.
Since Biden took office, he's taken a number of steps to address the $1.7 trillion student-debt crisis. On August 24, Biden announced up to $20,000 in student-loan forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients making under $125,000 a year, and up to $10,000 in relief for other federal borrowers under the same income cap.
Forty-five million Americans have a $1.7 trillion student-debt burden in the country. And many of them, alongside Democrats and advocates, want President Joe Biden to cancel their debt.
On August 24, President Biden announced that he would forgive $10,000 in student loans per borrower, $20,000 if you received a Pell Grant. To qualify for student-loan forgiveness, there are a few income requirements that applicants have to meet.
The PSLF program helps workers at nonprofit, government, and tribal organizations get their student loans forgiven after 120 eligible payments. Biden’s reforms included a temporary waiver that allows any past payments to the program, including those previously deemed ineligible, to count toward forgiveness progress — but that waiver is expiring on October 31.
The Education Department has begun processing applications as borrowers apply through a form on studentaid.gov that requires just basic information, like a borrower's name, email address, and Social Security number. But applying for Biden's student-loan forgiveness is the easy part — what comes after is key to ensuring millions of borrowers actually get the relief.
Student-loan borrowers will be able to apply for debt cancellation this month — and President Joe Biden wants to ensure they don't get scammed in the process. The White House and Education Department released a debt-relief update, specifically geared toward preventing scams during the application process.
