Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 5 - Issue 45

On Monday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order (EO) titled "Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government" intended to improve customer experience and government services. The EO includes directives to the Office of Federal Student Aid to provide Direct Loan borrowers with a single repayment portal on StudentAid.gov, enable a more streamlined Public Service Loan Forgiveness process for eligible borrowers, and provide students and borrowers with relevant recommendations for other benefits and services they may qualify for.

Congressional Democrats urge President Biden to extend the student loan payment pause, which is set to end in January.

The $85 billion student loan payment restart weighs on racial wealth gap.

Research by The Pew Charitable Trusts show that student loan borrowers with early repayment troubles are two and a half times more likely to default.

There were no relevant student-aid related bills recently introduced for consideration by the 117th Congress (2021-2022).