Pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden and his administration to retool an alternative student debt relief plan so it provides targeted assistance for borrowers who have faced hardship.
According to Bloomberg, the NAACP, the American Federation of Teachers, the Urban League and the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network were among the nearly 70 organizations and labor groups that signed a letter maintaining that the modifications would support key blocs for Biden’s reelection campaign, such as young people and people of color.
The letter — coordinated by Young Invincibles, a student advocacy group, and the Student Borrower Protection Center — requested that the Education Department call another meeting during its rule-making process to allow interested parties to voice their concerns regarding the agency’s draft proposal.
“Failing to finalize a proposal to provide relief for borrowers experiencing hardship would result in millions of borrowers — including most recent graduates, many low-income borrowers, borrowers of color, and borrowers with disabilities— being left out of the necessary debt relief,” per the letter, addressed to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. “This cannot be an option.”
Bloomberg reported that “hardship” is drawn explicitly from the Higher Education Act, which gives the education secretary broad authority to waive federal student loans.
The Department of Education said before its most recent rule-making meeting that it would consider relief opportunities for borrowers experiencing financial difficulties not addressed by the present loan system. However, officials later admitted that it would not be “defining hardship” in the proposed rule.
Currently, the plan provides student loan cancellation to specific groups of people, including people with balances exceeding their initial principal debt, those duped by for-profit or unaccredited institutions, and individuals not…
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