President Joe Biden didn’t offer much new to student loan borrowers, experts said, after the Supreme Court last month ruled against student loan forgiveness.
Instead, the president provided a watered down forbearance via the “on-ramp” program, more details on the previously announced updated income-driven repayment (IDR) plan — Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE)—and a promise to again try for debt forgiveness.
On Friday, the administration said it would start discharging loans for borrowers who’ve been in repayment for 20-25 years under the previously announced one-time payment adjustment. Some 800,000 borrowers will have $39 billion in federal student loans discharged.
Still, the announcements have disappointed many borrower advocates who were worried about the lack of broad-based student debt cancellation, loan servicer abuses, and broken forgiveness programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).