President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan will now exclude 770,000 Americans who thought they would be eligible.
The new details were added to the Education Department’s website on Thursday.
More Than 700,000 People With Student Loans Will Now Be Excluded From Biden’s Debt Forgiveness Plan https://t.co/hdf1E1cnoJ
— Will Smirk 4 Food (he/him) 🇺🇦 (@WillSmirk4Food) September 30, 2022
The changes
“As of Sept. 29, 2022, borrowers with federal student loans not held by ED cannot obtain one-time debt relief by consolidating those loans into Direct Loans,” new wording on the Education Department website reads as of Thursday, BuzzFeed News reported.
“Borrowers with FFEL Program loans and Perkins Loans not held by ED who have applied to consolidate into the Direct Loan program prior to Sept. 29, 2022, are eligible for one-time debt relief through the Direct Loan program,” it added.
I think it is very bad that the Student Loan forgiveness promise has this type of setback. Now people with privately held student loans will be excluded.https://t.co/NbIc2sJqu7
— J Fernando (@Ing_jfernando) September 29, 2022
More details
“The Biden administration is scaling back its debt relief program for millions of Americans over concerns about legal challenges from the student loan industry as well as a new lawsuit from Republican-led states,” Politico reported.
“In a reversal, the Education Department said on Thursday it would no longer allow borrowers who have federal student loans that are owned by private entities to qualify for the relief program. The administration had previously said those borrowers would have a path to receive up to $10,000 or $20,000 of loan forgiveness,” it added.
Details released on who is eligible for student loan debt forgiveness and what to expect – Newsworldpress @ https://t.co/Ax6LVzYjkp pic.twitter.com/53LR5AU9QQ
— newsworldpress.com (@newsworldpress) September 30, 2022
The details are released just weeks ahead of the midterm elections in November in a move that could be costly for Democrats.
The changes also further erode any trust Biden had with those in his party who have counted on him to come through on student loan forgiveness.
The end result means the forgiveness plan is really only for a limited amount of people that includes many who have not or cannot pay back what they have borrowed.