Letter Sent on Anniversary of SCOTUS Decision to Rip Critical Student Debt Relief Away From 40 Million Borrowers; It’s More Important Than Ever to Protect Student Loan Borrowers From Our Corrupt Courts
July 1, 2024 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — One year after the U.S. Supreme Court shamefully blocked President Biden’s original plan to use emergency powers to cancel student debt for 40 million student loan borrowers in the wake of COVID-19, 227 advocacy, labor, and civil rights groups come together to urge the Biden Administration to unveil its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to provide student loan debt relief to borrowers experiencing hardship. The letter also comes after two federal judges in Kansas and Missouri issued a pair of injunctions—one stayed on June 30 by the 10th Circuit—blocking portions of the new Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan (SAVE plan) and throwing the student loan system into chaos and making the hardship rules even more necessary. A copy of the letter is available here.
In the letter, the groups—which represent millions of students, borrowers, workers, people of color, veterans, people with disabilities, and consumers—ask the U.S. Department of Education to move swiftly and urgently to publish an NPRM on supporting borrowers experiencing hardship.
From the letter:
“We applaud the Administration’s ongoing commitment to deliver on President Biden’s promise of sweeping student loan debt relief…The Biden Administration’s proposed NPRM to support borrowers experiencing hardship represents a glimmer of hope for the millions of borrowers and their families who have been forced to wait for nearly two years for much-needed relief. Therefore, it is critical that the Department move swiftly and urgently to publish an NPRM on the hardship rules which will allow the Administration to deploy necessary relief to the millions of Americans whose economic mobility and financial stability are hindered by the student debt crisis.”
Among the groups signed onto the letter are AFL-CIO, AFT, NAACP, UnidosUS, AFSCME, SEIU, and NASW. In addition to the coalition letter, over 25,000 borrowers have sent individual letters to the White House urging the President to finalize the hardship NPRM.
The letter follows a May 2024 petition, signed by 22,337 borrowers and including nearly 5,000 individual borrower testimonials in support of the Biden Administration’s first package of rules that would provide relief to 30 million Americans with student debt, that were submitted to the Federal Register in response to the NPRM 30-day public comment period.
Further Reading
SBPC press release on the Kansas and Missouri injunctions temporarily halting SAVE: “A Recipe for Chaos”: Missouri and Kansas Judges Temporarily Halt Borrowers’ Access to Lower Student Loan Payments, Debt Relief
May 2024 comment, which includes a cover letter that spotlights 15 borrower stories, and a petition signed by 22,337 borrowers and nearly 5,000 individual borrower testimonials: See Here
May 2024 coalition comment in support of student debt cancellation: See Here
May 2024 SBPC public comment offering technical feedback on the specific proposals: See Here
SBPC press release on the 2023 SCOTUS ruling: Supreme Court Sides with Right-Wing Special Interests, Blocking President Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan
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About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.