Late last week, the House passed an amended version of the HEROES Act, which included a number of critical protections that student loan borrowers need now. Importantly, the amended bill extends the current payment suspension, stops interest from accruing on federal loans through September 2021, and extends CARES Act relief to the 9 million borrowers […]

On Saturday, August 8th, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum directing the Secretary of Education to extend a payment suspension and stop interest accrual for all student loans held by the Department of Education (ED) until December 31, 2020. The presidential memorandum extends some of the relief provided to borrowers under the CARES Act that would otherwise expire […]

This week, Congress is ramping up its debate about what protections it should extend as student loan borrowers continue to weather the Coronavirus crisis. These protections cannot come soon enough; on August 1, borrowers will begin to receive notices that the relief provided by the ‘‘Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’’ or the ‘‘CARES […]

Today on this Tax Day, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has released Voices of Despair: How Seizing the EITC Is Leaving Student Loan Borrowers Homeless and Hopeless During a Pandemic. The updated report builds on a 2018 NCLC report that compiled stories from dozens of borrowers recounting the hardship caused by the federal government’s […]

Some states are taking action to help borrowers with private student loan debt in addition to other general debt relief steps. A number of state attorney general offices have reached an agreement with private student loan lenders to provide assistance during the Covid-19 crisis. Those lenders have agreed to offer the following forms of relief […]

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) continues to garnish the wages of student loan borrowers despite some efforts to comply with the law. One of those borrowers is Craigory Lee A. Jenkins, whose wages continue to be garnished, depriving her of exactly the relief Congress decided she needed when it passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, […]

The ‘‘Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’’ or the ‘‘CARES Act’’ provided much-needed relief to some federal student loan borrowers in the face of the coronavirus crisis. The package, however, fell short in several critical consumer protection areas, including student loans. As we explained in a summary of the key student loan repayment provisions […]

UPDATE (June 4, 2020): The Department of Education has provided more information about implementation of the CARES Act.  Updates are provided in the text below. **************************** On Friday, March 27th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed and the President signed into law the ‘‘Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’’ or the ‘‘CARES Act,’’ emergency […]

Update: On March, 27th,  Congress passed and the President signed into law the “CARES Act,”  emergency legislation providing. More recent information regarding COVID-19 relief for student loan borrowers can be found at: https://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org/what-the-cares-act-means-for-repayment-of-federal-student-loans/ *************************************** This past week has been a dizzying array of announcement after announcement related to COVID-19. The world of federal student loans […]

The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking financial havoc on millions of student loan borrowers.  Debt cancellation is the best way to protect them now and ensure that they recover along with the economy.  Our work has taught us that low-income borrowers and borrowers of color were already struggling with unaffordable student debt and default before getting […]