Category Archives: US student debt

Federal appeals court rules against Biden student debt relief program

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The Save plan – a means-tested program – was blocked from further implementation by Republican-appointed judges

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.

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Biden cancels additional $9bn in student loan debt

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President’s latest approval brings total debt cancellation under his administration to $127bn for nearly 3.6 million people

President Joe Biden has announced an additional 125,000 people have been approved for student debt relief in a total of $9bn.

Biden’s latest approval brings the total approved debt cancellation under his administration to $127bn for nearly 3.6 million Americans, the White House said in a statement.

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Biden student-debt plan hailed as ‘big step forward’ for millions of borrowers

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Advocates say proposals that cut debt to zero for some borrowers and reduce monthly interest payments are good news

Joe Biden’s new student-loan plan is an important and large step forward on student debt forgiveness in the US even after a previous debt reduction program was controversially struck down by the supreme court, advocates say.

When the justices ruled against Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans per borrower in June, 40 million debt-burdened Americans were left with questions – especially as monthly payments would resume in October after being paused for over three years because of the Covid pandemic.

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Biden launches ‘most affordable ever’ student loan repayment plan

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Announcement comes two months after supreme court struck down Biden’s original debt forgiveness plan

Federal student loan borrowers can expect “the most affordable student loan plan ever”, Biden said in a video address on Tuesday announcing significant changes to the debt from higher education held by over an eighth of the country.

The announcement comes nearly two months after the US supreme court struck down Biden’s original student debt forgiveness plan that would have forgiven $20,000 of federal student debt for borrowers who were Pell grant recipients and up to $10,000 of debt for other borrowers.

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Biden administration trials website for new student loan repayment scheme

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Beta – or testing – site for ‘Save’ plan should take only 10 minutes to use and aims to cut undergraduate payments in half

The Joe Biden White House is launching a beta – or testing – website as part of its new income-driven student loan repayment plan, according to reports.

The site, which CNN first reported on Sunday, comes as part of the president’s Saving on a Valuable Education (Save) plan, which was announced earlier this year after the supreme court struck down an earlier iteration of Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.

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Supreme court’s student loan decision ‘usurps Congress’s authority,’ says Democrat

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Ro Khanna of California said he will support another relief plan that Joe Biden is proposing under the Higher Education Act

The US supreme court’s decision to strike down Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan late last week “usurped the authority of Congress”, Democratic House representative Ro Khanna said on Sunday.

Khanna, of California, argued that if anyone thought Biden was unduly empowered by the legislation which the president used to issue the debt relief program, “then the solution is Congress can repeal the … act”.

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Joe Biden lays out new student debt relief plan after supreme court ruling

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President says ‘the court misinterpreted the constitution’ as he announces intention to use another law for debt forgiveness

Joe Biden vowed the “fight was not over” on Friday after the US supreme court ruled against his landmark student debt forgiveness plan.

“I think the court misinterpreted the constitution,” the president said, delivering remarks at the White House and announcing his intention to pivot to another law to find another path forward.

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US states opposing student loan forgiveness made false claims, files reveal

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Republican states fighting Joe Biden’s plan falsely said they’d be financially impacted by the scheme, debt forgiveness group claims

Newly uncovered documents show that the Republican states fighting Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan have made false claims that they will “suffer injuries”, or rather, be financially impacted by the scheme, a debt forgiveness campaign group has claimed.

The supreme court case that will decide the fate of Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, Nebraska v Biden, rests on one of the plaintiffs, Missouri’s state attorney general, who claims Mohela – as the higher education loan authority of the state of Missouri is known – will be financially affected by the plan for the worse.

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White House urges borrowers to apply for student debt relief despite court order

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Federal appeals court temporarily halts Biden’s cancellation of student debt after motion brought by six Republican-led states

The Biden administration is urging student loan borrowers to continue applying for debt relief despite a federal appeals court order late on Friday that temporarily halted this program.

“[This] temporary order does not prevent borrowers from applying for student debt relief,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement following the eighth circuit court of appeals’ temporary stay.

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Appeals court temporarily halts Biden’s student debt cancellation scheme

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Program has been paused as the court considers a motion filed by six Republican-led states

Joe Biden’s plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans has been temporarily halted by a federal appeals court as it considers a motion from six Republican-led states to block the program.

The eighth circuit court of appeals issued the temporary stay on Friday, ordering the Biden administration not to act on the program while it considers the appeal.

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Biden unveils plan to cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for millions

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President delivers on campaign promise and outlines debt relief measures for those on lower incomes in White House speech

Millions of Americans received welcome news on Wednesday when Joe Biden delivered on a campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student debt forgiveness.

Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year will be eligible for loan forgiveness, with those whose low incomes qualified them for federal Pell Grants receiving up to $20,000 in relief. About a third of US undergraduate students receive Pell Grants.

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‘I still owe $123,379’: pressure grows on Biden to tackle student loan debt

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Many have been paying thousands of dollars in interest alone, with their principal debt hardly affected despite monthly payments

In 2001, Karen Herrera of Minnesota took advice from a Sallie Mae representative to consolidate her student loan debt with her husband’s. They both worked in the public sector, but due to their type of loans, they did not qualify for public service forgiveness. Herrera lost her job in 2009 due to the economic recession, and though the couple filed for bankruptcy, their student loan debts remained.

Herrera and her husband have continued to make monthly payments throughout the pandemic, as their loans through the Federal Family Education Loan Program were not eligible for the pause on payments.

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How we can truly repay our frontline health workers: clear their debts | Alissa Quart, Astra Taylor And Brittany M Powell

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Many of the workers risking their lives amid the pandemic are burdened with student debt. We owe them more than just applause

Every day at 7pm, New Yorkers have cheered, applauded and banged pots and pans for frontline workers. One of those they have cheered for is Shana-Kay Henry, a physician assistant in the city, who, like thousands of others, is praised as a hero for her brave caretaking efforts during the pandemic.

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