Biden’s Backup for Student Loan Relief Likely to Take a Year
Katherine Knott
July 19, 2023
Negotiations over loan forgiveness will spotlight the Education Department’s complicated process to enact new rules—and are likely to frustrate borrowers in the process.
Nearly a year after President Biden first pledged to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans per borrower and less than a month after the Supreme Court struck down that plan, the Education Department is again trying to provide relief.
But this second attempt will take longer—at least 12 months—several experts said, and involves a complicated regulatory process known as negotiated rule making. And any end result could still be subject to a legal challenge.
“I worry about dangling this potential relief in front of borrowers again, so recently after it’s been taken away from them without a really clear path forward,” said Michelle Dimino, deputy director of education at Third Way, a center-left think tank.
