President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program remains on hold while a federal appeals court considers a legal challenge brought by six GOP-led states.
The Biden administration continues to accept applications for student loan forgiveness, worth up to $20,000 per borrower, but is currently barred from canceling student loan debt due to a temporary, administrative stay of the program by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court. Appeals on October 21.
The appeals court will then decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction sought by the states. If granted, the student loan forgiveness program could be put on hold while litigation continues and the court hears both sides on the merits of the case. If the order is not granted, debt relief can begin while the appeal is pending.
The decision on the preliminary injunction can be issued at any time.
A lower court judge dismissed the lawsuit on Oct. 20, ruling that the states lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett also rejected a separate challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, refusing to accept an appeal brought by a group of Wisconsin taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is also facing lawsuits from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and conservative groups such as the Job Creators Network Foundation and the Cato Institute.
Many of the lawsuits argue that the Biden administration does not have the legal authority to generally cancel student loan debt. But government lawyers argue that Congress gave the education secretary the authority to pay off the debt in a 2003 law known as the HEROES Act.
Nearly 26 million people have so far applied for student loan forgiveness, the Biden administration said Thursday. The application opened on October 14.
The administration also said Thursday that 16 million applications for loan forgiveness could be approved this week.
“By the end of this week, the Department of Education will have approved the applications of 16 million Americans and sent the necessary documents to student loan servicers,” Biden said during an appearance at Central New Mexico Community College on Thursday .
But borrowers shouldn’t wait to see their debts canceled until the appeals court lifts the program’s stay.
Borrowers can apply online here:
Applicants can expect to receive email confirmation once their application has been successfully submitted. Borrowers will then be notified by their loan servicer if and when debt relief has been applied to their account.
Borrowers have until December 31, 2023 to apply.
If the court allows the administration to grant student loan forgiveness, an estimated 8 million eligible borrowers could automatically receive debt forgiveness because the Department of Education already has their income information on file. Those borrowers could start seeing their debt canceled on Nov. 15, at the earliest, if there isn’t a legal stay at that time.
If Biden’s plan is allowed to go forward, single borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 a year in those years could see up to $10,000. from their federal student loan.
If a paid borrower also received a federal Pell Grant while enrolled in college, the individual is eligible for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness.
There are a variety of federal student loans, and not all are eligible for relief. Federal Direct Loans, including subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans, parent PLUS loans and graduate PLUS loans, are eligible.
However, federal student loans that are guaranteed by the government but held by private lenders are not eligible unless the borrower applies to consolidate those loans into an Direct Loan before September 29.
This story has been updated with additional information.
title: “Where Biden S Student Loan Relief Plan Is "
ShowToc: true
date: “2022-11-11”
author: “Jesse Robinson”
President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program remains on hold while a federal appeals court considers a legal challenge brought by six GOP-led states.
The Biden administration continues to accept applications for student loan forgiveness, worth up to $20,000 per borrower, but is currently barred from canceling student loan debt due to a temporary, administrative stay of the program by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court. Appeals on October 21.
The appeals court will then decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction sought by the states. If granted, the student loan forgiveness program could be put on hold while litigation continues and the court hears both sides on the merits of the case. If the order is not granted, debt relief can begin while the appeal is pending.
The decision on the preliminary injunction can be issued at any time.
A lower court judge dismissed the lawsuit on Oct. 20, ruling that the states lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett also rejected a separate challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, refusing to accept an appeal brought by a group of Wisconsin taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration is also facing lawsuits from Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and conservative groups such as the Job Creators Network Foundation and the Cato Institute.
Many of the lawsuits argue that the Biden administration does not have the legal authority to generally cancel student loan debt. But government lawyers argue that Congress gave the education secretary the authority to pay off the debt in a 2003 law known as the HEROES Act.
Nearly 26 million people have so far applied for student loan forgiveness, the Biden administration said Thursday. The application opened on October 14.
The administration also said Thursday that 16 million applications for loan forgiveness could be approved this week.
“By the end of this week, the Department of Education will have approved the applications of 16 million Americans and sent the necessary documents to student loan servicers,” Biden said during an appearance at Central New Mexico Community College on Thursday .
But borrowers shouldn’t wait to see their debts canceled until the appeals court lifts the program’s stay.
Borrowers can apply online here:
Applicants can expect to receive email confirmation once their application has been successfully submitted. Borrowers will then be notified by their loan servicer if and when debt relief has been applied to their account.
Borrowers have until December 31, 2023 to apply.
If the court allows the administration to grant student loan forgiveness, an estimated 8 million eligible borrowers could automatically receive debt forgiveness because the Department of Education already has their income information on file. Those borrowers could start seeing their debt canceled on Nov. 15, at the earliest, if there isn’t a legal stay at that time.
If Biden’s plan is allowed to go forward, single borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 a year in those years could see up to $10,000. from their federal student loan.
If a paid borrower also received a federal Pell Grant while enrolled in college, the individual is eligible for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness.
There are a variety of federal student loans, and not all are eligible for relief. Federal Direct Loans, including subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans, parent PLUS loans and graduate PLUS loans, are eligible.
However, federal student loans that are guaranteed by the government but held by private lenders are not eligible unless the borrower applies to consolidate those loans into an Direct Loan before September 29.
This story has been updated with additional information.
