September 19, 2024 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — 112 advocacy, labor, and civil rights groups came together to urge the Biden-Harris Administration to extend and strengthen crucial programs to protect student loan borrowers from financial ruin amid ongoing litigation. An Eighth Circuit injunction barring tens of millions from accessing affordable repayment plans has wrought chaos in the student loan system and left borrowers with expensive and hard-to-access options just as these vital protections come to an end.
A copy of the letter is available here: https://protectborrowers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/110-Group-Letter-to-ED-to-Extend-On-Ramp-Count-Forbearances_09-19-2024.pdf
The groups, including AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, Hispanic Federation, NAACP, NASW, NEA, SEIU, Unidos, UAW, The Institute for College Access & Success, and Student Borrower Protection Center asked ED to ensure time spent in administrative forbearance counts toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Driven Repayment relief, and to extend two critical programs set to expire on September 30: the “on-ramp” period to keep borrowers out of default and the “Fresh Start” program to help borrowers get out of default. Today’s letter joins a growing movement of similar requests from legal aid groups and other advocates.
From the letter:
“In response to legal challenges, the Department took decisive action to place borrowers who had been enrolled in the SAVE Plan into a zero-interest forbearance while the Department defends the SAVE plan in court. Unfortunately, while this zero-interest forbearance provides borrowers a momentary reprieve, we are extremely concerned by the Department’s decision to not allow this time in forbearance to count toward PSLF or IDR loan forgiveness.”
Also from the letter:
“Amidst all of this chaos, September marks the final month of two important initiatives: (1) the Administration’s current ‘on-ramp’ protections, which have helped shield borrowers from many of the harshest economic consequences of falling behind on their student loans, and (2) the deadline to enroll in the ‘Fresh Start,’ program, which enables borrowers in default to get back into repayment more easily.
“We urge the Department to extend these two pivotal programs. …No borrower should be forced into delinquency, default, or collections while they are unable to access the full suite of affordable repayment options they are entitled to under the law.”
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