Biden administration announces steps to extend student debt relief

Source: Washington Post

Updated January 31, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. EST


In an effort to salvage its student debt relief program struck down by the Supreme Court last year, the Biden administration is taking new steps to extend debt relief to borrowers experiencing financial hardship.

On Wednesday, administration officials said they will host a rulemaking session next month to determine what constitutes hardship, an effort advocates hope will deliver expansive loan forgiveness.

“The Biden-Harris Administration will never stop working to deliver student debt relief for borrowers,” Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal said in a statement Wednesday. “We look forward to discussing another avenue for borrower relief related to hardship at our next negotiation session.”

Defining financial hardship became a major point of contention during negotiations to craft a new regulation after the Supreme Court ruled in June that President Biden had exceeded his authority in canceling roughly $400 billion in student debt. The Education Department convened a panel of higher education experts in the fall to make recommendations, but the department failed to produce a plan before disbanding the group in December.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/01/31/biden-student-debt-relief-hardship/