Category: Uncategorized

Income-Driven Repayment Changes to Create ‘Student Loan Safety Net’

“For nearly three decades, IDR has failed to live up to its promise of an affordable lifeline for federal student loan borrowers,” said Persis Yu, deputy executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. “Instead, the program perpetuated an inescapable debt trap—leaving millions of borrowers vulnerable to devastating collection tools. By canceling any unpaid interest each month, reducing monthly payments, and providing access to defaulted borrowers, the Biden administration has begun to deliver…

More
Everything You Need to Know About Student Loan Repayment Changes

“Equity demands that these [Parent PLUS and graduate] borrowers have equal access to an affordable payment plan and the necessary supports to free themselves from the crushing weight of student debt. The Secretary must include them in the final rule,” Persis Yu, deputy executive director of the SBPC, said in a statement.

More
‘Exploitative’ student-loan companies and GOP groups cannot ‘continue to hold borrowers hostage,’ a Democratic lawmaker says — and she’ll fight for debt relief ‘until every legal solution has been exhausted’

On a press call led by the Student Borrower Protection Center, Rep. Cori Bush expressed support for the briefs — and criticize the states’, and MOHELA’s, role in blocked debt relief for millions of Americans.

More
Parents who took on student loans for their kids’ educations aren’t included in Biden’s new debt relief proposals

“The Department’s plan remains out of reach for many of the students and families who are forced to take on some of the greatest amounts of debt in hopes of achieving social mobility,” Persis Yu, deputy executive director of advocacy group Student Borrower Protection Center, said in a statement.

More
Historic Coalition of Cities, States, Experts, and Advocates Defend Action to Cancel Student Debt Before the Supreme Court

Amici curiae to nation’s highest court: student debt relief is lawful and urgently needed to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More
A New Student Loan Plan Could Reduce the Burden for 10 Million Borrowers. Here’s How

Those with Parent PLUS loans, which are given to the parents of an undergraduate student, are not eligible, much to the dismay of nonprofits like the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC). While they praised many of the proposed amendments, the SBPC also said the Education Department’s plan “ignores the reality that low-income families—especially low-income families of color—are more likely to rely on Parent PLUS loans or need to get a graduate degree to…

More
New federal student loan repayment plan aimed at low-income borrowers

The deputy executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, Persis Yu, said in a statement that while the proposals are significant, the Department of Education should go further by including Parent PLUS loans and graduate student loan borrowers in the program.

More
More relief for student borrowers could come under new rules

Meanwhile, some of those who welcomed the extra relief criticized the proposal for excluding loans taken out by parents and graduate students. “It ignores the reality that low-income families — especially low-income families of color — are more likely to rely on ParentPLUS loans or need to get a graduate degree to earn the same salary as their wealthier white peers,” said Persis Yu, deputy executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.

More
Education Department’s Announcement on Income-Driven Repayment is Game-Changing for Struggling Student Loan Borrowers

The House of Representatives votes 225 to 201 with bipartisan support for a $1.7 trillion omnibus funding package that will support the Biden Administration’s effort to cancel student debt for 40 million people.

More
Exclusive: New Biden student loan plan unveiled amid agency funding crisis

Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center and an outspoken supporter of Biden’s debt relief plan, says, as long as there are federal student loan borrowers, there must be investment in a system to support them. “If they are confused about what their options are, it costs money to pay a person to walk them through what their rights are,” Pierce says. “If they just need paperwork processed, it costs…

More