Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 6 - Issue 9

The Washington Post is reporting that President Joe Biden is close to making a decision about student debt cancellation. According to reports, President Biden plans to cancel $10,000 of federal student loan debt for borrowers earning less than $150,000 (or $300,000 for married couples filing jointly). According to U.S. Department of Education data, cancelling $10,000 per borrower would eliminate student loan debt for about a third of borrowers, while 97 percent of borrowers earn less than $150,000. There is no word from the White House on when a final decision or announcement will be made.

The Biden administration will forgive $5.8 billion in student loan debt for over half a million defrauded students.

Sixty percent of student loan borrowers made zero payments during the pandemic freeze, according to a new release by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

When student borrowers get debt, but no degree.

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

H.R. 7895 – [Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC-7)] would amend the Higher Education Act to terminate the authority to make federal Direct PLUS loans to student borrowers.

S. 4344 – Zero-Percent Student Loan Refinancing Act [Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)] would allow student loan borrowers to refinance their federal loans to zero percent and would automatically refinance debt for Direct Loan borrowers.

S. 4342 – Simplifying and Strengthening PSLF Act [Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)] would cut the number of payments needed to be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) from 120 to 60, permit any prior period of repayment to count as a qualifying payment, and allow certain Parent PLUS Loan borrowers to reconsolidate their debt into one Direct Loan for PSLF eligibility.