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1 1 (November 15, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejkd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ ~ Research Service The Biden Administration's One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief Policy Updated November 15, 2022 On August 24, 2022, invoking the HEROES Act of 2003, the Department of Education (ED) announced a new one-time student loan debt relief policy (hereinafter, the policy) to address the financial harms of the pandemic for low- and middle-income borrowers that is to make available up to $20,000 of loan cancellation benefits per individual to millions of federal student loan borrowers. On October 21, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (hereinafter, the Eighth Circuit) issued an administrative stay prohibiting ED from discharging student loans under the policy until the court ruled on certain plaintiffs' motion for an injunction pending appeal. On November 14, 2022, the Eighth Circuit subsequently issued an injunction prohibiting ED from discharging loans under the policy pending appeal. In another case, on November 10, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas vacated the policy on the grounds that the policy is not authorized under the HEROES Act. The policy represents a departure from other types of student loan debt relief, which historically have been available to borrowers on a more targeted basis and typically provide relief to individuals for fulfilling employment requirements, for repaying their loans according to an income-driven repayment plan, or following borrower hardships (e.g., total and permanent disability). These programs, to date, have provided relief to hundreds of thousands of borrowers, but could ultimately provide relief to more. The Administration's new policy is broader in scope and is to be available to millions of borrowers based on limited eligibility criteria. The Policy Approximately 45 million borrowers owe over $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt. Under the cancelation policy, the Biden Administration plans to cancel: up to $10,000 in student loans for borrowers whose adjusted gross income (AGI) in 2020 or 2021 was less than $125,000 (for individuals or married borrowers who file their federal income taxes separately), or $250,000 (for married couples filing jointly, heads of households, or qualifying widow(er)s); borrowers enrolled in postsecondary education as dependent students between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, will be eligible for cancellation based on parental AGI; and Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11997 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress