Check your email. Did you see any emails with good news? No problem, it may be coming in the next few hours or in a matter of days. Millions of student loan borrowers are shortly receiving emails bearing good news about their student loan forgiveness.
President Joe Biden’s administration is preparing a new round of student debt forgiveness for dozens of millions of Americans, after the Supreme Court blocked the first attempt a few weeks ago.
Attention Student Loan Borrowers: You Could Receive an Email With Good News
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said this week that the administration that the Biden-Harris administration is trying to take a step forward in its effort to provide “student debt relief to borrowers who have been hurt by a system that doesn’t work.”
Borrowers who qualify for partial or total cancellation are those who currently owe more than they owed at the beginning of repayment of their loans, as well as those who have been making payments for decades without having managed to get closer to the ultimate goal, which is to reach zero debt.
For those borrowers who wish to opt-out debt forgiveness, the Department of Education has stipulated that they must do so by August 30, by contacting their loan servicer.
New Approach After the Judicial Block to the SAVE Plan
On the day the Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s first attempt to massively forgive student loans, Biden announced that the White House would look for another way to offer this relief. Originally, the president tried to cancel the debt by an executive order. This time, he has instructed the Department of Education to follow a regulatory process, which, according to experts, could increase the chances of success in the face of future legal challenges.
The Department of Education is expected to release its final rule on debt relief sometime in October.
Wednesday’s announcement suggests the agency plans to act quickly once the rule takes effect, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. “The Biden administration will undoubtedly be ready to act as soon as the final rule is released, but Republicans may also be ready to file a lawsuit,” Kantrowitz said.
It was a lawsuit filed by six GOP-led states – Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina – that ultimately led to the nullification of Biden’s first loan forgiveness plan.
Political Strategy and Student Loan Borrowers in the Middle
The emails to borrowers could also be part of a strategy by Biden’s team to show millions of Americans that loan forgiveness is at stake in the election, Kantrowitz suggested. “It shows borrowers what they stand to lose if Republicans win,” he said.
For her part, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sharply criticized this latest development. “The Biden-Harris administration continues to flaunt loan ‘forgiveness’ in front of millions of borrowers across the country,” Foxx said in a statement. “This is simply another illegal plan aimed at buying votes in November.”
Currently, the Biden administration is facing the challenge of fulfilling its promise to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of Americans. The Supreme Court’s decision to block this measure has left millions of borrowers in a state of uncertainty.
