The Department of Education on Wednesday will send emails to about 25 million student loan borrowers providing options for having some or all of their debt canceled this fall, as President Biden advances an alternative to the plan the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional last year.
The emails are the first step of the Biden administration’s revamped student debt plan announced in April and being finalized for narrower, targeted debt relief.
“By providing more information to borrowers on how they can take advantage of our upcoming debt relief programs, borrowers will be prepared to benefit swiftly once the rules are final,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.
His debt relief plan will be an issue in November’s presidential election, even though Mr. Biden is no longer on the ballot. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has touted the administration’s efforts to eliminate student debt and vowed to continue the policy if elected.
Young progressives and minority voters have hailed the program as a way to get people out of debt, but Republicans have said it will worsen inflation.
“This is just another illegal scheme intended to buy votes in November and it will do nothing to address the student loan disaster that Biden-Harris has exacerbated. Overpromising and underdelivering is an undeniable hallmark of this administration,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Republican and chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee.
Mr. Biden’s latest debt forgiveness plan will be finalized in the fall; Wednesday’s emails start the process by notifying borrowers that they have to inform their loan servicers by Aug. 30 to opt out of the plan. It also will inform borrowers that they don’t have to take any action if they are interested in debt relief.
Eligible borrowers include those who owe more now than when they took out their loan, those who have been repaying for decades and those eligible for loan forgiveness but haven’t already applied.
“These latest steps will mark the next milestone in our efforts to help millions of borrowers who’ve been buried under a mountain of student loan interest, or who took on debt to pay for college programs that left them worse off financially, those who have been paying their loans for twenty or more years, and many others,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
The Biden administration emphasized that the email does not guarantee relief for borrowers but notes that the negotiated rulemaking process will be concluded in the fall.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Mr. Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans per borrower in 2023, the administration has offered smaller, targeted plans to achieve large-scale debt cancellation.
One of those plans, the SAVE Plan, was put on hold by a court earlier this month after Republicans argued that the administration had overstepped its authority.
Correction: An earlier version of this report misidentified Rep. Virginia Foxx’s home state. She is from North Carolina.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.