Education Department Planning for Student Debt Forgiveness
Meghan Brink
August 1, 2022
Officials at the Education Department have developed plans to cancel student debt for millions of borrowers, awaiting a final decision from President Biden, as reported by Politico Thursday.
Biden is considering providing $10,000 of debt relief per borrower, a decision he said he will make before the pause on student loan payments ends Aug. 31. The documents did not detail a final plan for debt relief from the Biden administration; however, Politico reported that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was briefed last week on plans to implement broad-based cancellation by department officials.
Documents obtained by Politico from Education Department officials show that the department could provide debt relief automatically to borrowers for whom the agency already has income information. Other borrowers will have to apply through StudentAid.gov.
The documents also say all types of federal student loans would be eligible for forgiveness, including Parent PLUS and Grad loans. In addition, it suggested that borrowers who received low-income assistance, like Pell Grants, could have additional debt forgiven.
