Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 7 - Issue 11

On Monday, 17 Democratic Senators sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies asking the Subcommittee to match the funding requested by the Biden-Harris Administration for the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). Recall that President Biden requested $2.7 billion, a $620 million increase above the 2023 enacted level, for FSA in his budget request for fiscal year 2024. In the letter, the Senators express concerns stemming from the flat funding FSA received in 2023 which they believe could negatively impact its ability to bring borrowers back into repayment and successfully implement the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act and the FUTURE Act. 

Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) sent a letter to the CEO of SoFi Technologies and SoFi Lending Corp questioning the legitimacy of the lawsuit SoFi brought against the Biden-Harris Administration regarding the student loan payment pause. In the letter, the Democratic members of Congress asserted that SoFi is using the courts to attempt a backdoor repeal of the payment pause and owes the American public an explanation for its actions. SoFi has not yet responded to the letter.

The Congressional Research Service releases a report outlining President Biden's student loan forgiveness program.

Student loan servicer staffing data raises questions about the Biden-Harris Administration’s student loan payment resumption timeline. 

There were no relevant student-aid related bills recently introduced for consideration by the 118th Congress (2023-2024).