On  April 6, 2022, President Biden directed the U.S. Department of Education to extend the coronavirus-related payment suspension and 0% interest rate on certain federal student loans for four months. The payment suspension was due to expire at the end of April, but it is now extended to August 31, 2022.   Fresh Start for Borrowers in Default The […]

Today, Congresswoman Pressley, in partnership with Congresswomen Omar and Adams and Chairwoman Maxine Waters, introduced a House companion to Senators Schumer and Warren resolution calling upon President-Elect Biden to cancel $50,000 of federal student loan debt for each borrower. This House resolution demonstrates continued momentum and growing Congressional support for the urgency of administrative student […]

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 […]

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 […]

‘The injustice of the federal government withholding disability benefits for people who it knows are totally and permanently disabled and entitled to debt relief is hard to comprehend.’ by Alex Elson Too often, political blinders thwart commonsense policies that everyone should support. That is why the Trump administration’s decision last month to automatically discharge student […]

Many of the 44 million borrowers are struggling to repay their more than $1.4 trillion in student loan debt in the United States. The options for federal student loan borrowers can be good, but as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s many reports and recent lawsuit against Navient demonstrate, accessing those options can be a confusing […]

As recently as this April, we explained that Congress chose not to roll back the important protections for defrauded student loan borrowers provided by the Department of Education’s borrower defense rules. Unfortunately, the Department has not only delayed implementation of the bulk of the borrower defense and gainful employment rules, but has also announced that […]

Earlier this week, over 150 Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos highlighting concerns surrounding the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) decision to make changes to the student loan servicing contract procurement process. A month after withdrawing guidance intending to ensure greater consumer protections in the contracting process for student […]