About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 1 (December 29, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejzm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ____ ~ Research Service The Biden Administration's One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief Policy Updated December 29, 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 (the policy) to address the financial harms of the [COVID-19] 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. Within weeks of the announcement, lawsuits challenging ED's authority to effectuate the policy were filed in federal district courts across the country. In October 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit enjoined the policy. In November 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. In December 2022, the Supreme Court agreed to hear oral argument in both cases on February 28, 2023, but declined to grant the federal government relief from either of the lower court orders. Thus, loan cancellation under the policy would occur, if at all, only after the Supreme Court renders a decision in favor of the Administration. The announced 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, and 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 cancellation policy, the Biden Administration plans to cancel the following: 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 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