Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 5 - Issue 17

The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) released sequester-required changes, mandated under the Budget Control Act of 2011, to federal student aid programs for Fiscal Year 2022, including student loan origination fees. Fees remain unchanged from last year. Direct Subsidized and Direct Unsubsidized Loans fees will be 1.057 percent and the loan fees for Direct Plus Loans will be 4.228 percent.

FSA also announced several changes to its website including an update to the loan simulator that will now provide information from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which suspended student loan payments and collection activities on defaulted loans. The update is meant to better enable borrowers to estimate repayment options based on the changes made by the CARES Act. 

The Biden administration defends Trump-era student loan lawsuits.

A little known provision of the CARES Act helps employees pay their student loans.

The Brookings Institution lays out a proportional approach to enhancing student loan debt forgiveness and how it would impact the lives of borrowers.

The following bills have been recently introduced for consideration by the 117th Congress (2021-2022):

H.R. 3196 – Student Loan Marriage Penalty Elimination Act [Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO-4)] would allow both spouses in a marriage who hold education debt to deduct up to $2,500 in interest paid on student loans from their taxable income.

H.R. 3247 – Stop Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit Seizure Act [Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29)] would prohibit the federal government from using student loan debt recuperation as justification for reducing an individual’s tax refund to an amount that is less than the portion attributable to the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit.