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1 1 (July 10, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemec0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional____ aResearch Service The Biden Administration's One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief Policy under the HEROES Act of 2003 Updated July 10, 2023 On August 24, 2022, invoking the HEROES Act of 2003, the Department of Education (ED) announced a one-time student loan debt relief' policy (the policy) to address the financial hanns of the [COVID-19] pandemic for low- and middle-income borrowers that would have made available up to $20,000 of loan cancellation benefits per individual to millions of federal student loan borrowers. On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the policy exceeded the Secretary of Education's authority under the HEROES Act. In doing so, the Court precluded ED from granting student loan cancellation under the policy. This Insight describes the features of the planned policy. CRS Legal Sidebar LSB 10997, Supreme Court Invalidates Student Loan Cancellation Policy Under the HEROES Act, summarizes the Supreme Court's decision invalidating the policy. This policy represented 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 was broader in scope and would have been 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 planned 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 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11997 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress