Biden Admin Launches Student Debt Relief Website
The US Dept. of Education has launched a website that will provide $10K for a large number of borrowers who earned less than $125K in the 2020 or 2021 tax years. Pell Grant recipients can receive up to $20K of debt relief.
Facts
- The US Dept. of Education has launched a website that will provide $10K for a large number of borrowers who earned less than $125K in the 2020 or 2021 tax years. Pell Grant recipients can receive up to $20K of debt relief.
- On Monday, Biden formally announced the launch, saying "This is a game changer for millions of Americans…and it took an incredible amount of effort to get this website done in such a short time.”
- Officials hope a streamlined process won’t take more than five minutes for borrowers to apply. People will need just their Social Security number, and they won’t have to provide their Federal Student Aid ID or upload documents.
- The Dept. says its goal is to get as much debt relief processed as possible before Jan. 1, 2023, when the multi-year freeze on student loan payments because of the COVID pandemic ends.
- Pres. Biden announced his student-debt relief program in August, but it could be tied up in the courts because it's being challenged by multiple lawsuits.
Sources: NBC, CNN, CBS, and Daily Mail.
Narratives
- Democratic narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. While Republicans are filing lawsuits to deny citizens vital debt relief, the Biden admin. is both providing support and making it easy to obtain. Applying is quick, requires no login, and can be done with just a social security number, birthdate, phone number, and email address – so everyone eligible should apply as soon as they get a chance. This is a massive win for borrowers.
- Republican narrative, as provided by Townhall. The courts will decide whether this debt-relief plan is legal. But it doesn’t take a court to see how ripe for fraud this plan is, considering the administration’s attempt to make applying "quick and easy" has dropped all guardrails. Without requiring borrowers to provide supporting documents, or even their federal borrower ID number, this already costly program’s price tag is going to explode once the fraudsters get their hands on it. The GOP's concern has been right all along.
