As Inflation Spikes, SBPC Unveils New State Map Highlighting How Much Trump Administration Decision to Resume Interest Will Cost Working Families Across Each State

July 15, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Senator Bernie Sanders, Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee sent a letter urging Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to immediately reverse the decision to restart student loan interest for nearly 8 million borrowers. These borrowers have been trapped in a year-long forbearance due to right-wing legal challenges against the Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. 

In response, Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) released the following statement and unveiled new state-by-state data and a nationwide map shedding light on how this Trump Administration policy choice will increase costs for borrowers across all 50 states and territories. This map builds on SBPC’s recent economic and legal analysis, which found that a typical borrower will be forced to pay more than $3,500 per year or $300 per month in unnecessary interest charges. In total, borrowers affected by this policy change will be charged more than $27 billion in interest over the next 12 months, according to SBPC’s new analysis.

“We applaud Senators Schumer, Warren, and Sanders for taking a stand and pushing back against Secretary McMahon’s choice to callously drown millions of Americans in unnecessary interest charges while hiding behind unrelated court cases,” said SBPC executive director Mike Pierce. “Since Day One of the Trump Administration, working families with student debt in every community across the country have been met with nothing but broken promises, higher costs, and even more debt. Our new map proves Secretary McMahon is deliberately jacking up costs for borrowers in every state and territory instead of doing her job to protect borrowers’ legal right to affordable repayment. Today’s new inflation data brings this failure into sharp relief: across the economy, President Trump has no plan to make life cheaper for working people, including families with student debt.”

View the map here and below, and a full copy of the data here.

Further Reading

Read the full SBPC memo, including new economic and legal analysis, here: https://protectborrowers.org/memo-more-broken-promises-to-working-families-with-student-debt/ 

Court order revealing the number of borrowers affected by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) blocking Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) applications: New Court Filing Reveals Backlog of Nearly 2 Million Student Loan Borrower Payment Plan Applications

SBPC and AFT statement on IDR application restoration but continued backlog: AFT v. ED Update: Under Pressure, ED Will Restore IDR Application Tomorrow But Will Not Immediately Resume IDR Paperwork Processing

AFT’s lawsuit against ED: AFT v. U.S. Department of Education

Sworn declarations from borrowers harmed by the IDR shutdown: Borrower Declarations AFT Motion for TRO 03-24-2025

SBPC statement on ED taking down IDR application: Trump Administration Denies Access to Affordable Repayment Plans in Extreme Response to Right-Wing Court Order

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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.