(DCWatchdog.com) – In a massive reversal in the student loan forgiveness saga, the United States Department of Education changed the rules on who is eligible for the loan forgiveness program, which President Joe Biden trumpeted as a huge accomplishment when it was first announced with great fanfare.
Under the new guidelines, millions of student loan holders will now be excluded.
Here is what has happened according to National Public Radio which was one of the first to break the news that many believe the Biden administration tried to bury while Hurricane Ian was ravaging Florida.
“At the center of the change are borrowers who took out federal student loans many years ago, both Perkins loans and Federal Family Education Loans. FFEL loans, issued and managed by private banks but guaranteed by the federal government, were once the mainstay of the federal student loan program until the FFEL program ended in 2010.
“Today, according to federal data, more than 4 million borrowers still have commercially-held FFEL loans. Until Thursday, the department’s own website advised these borrowers that they could consolidate these loans into federal Direct Loans and thereby qualify for relief under Biden’s debt cancellation program.” [emphasis added]
Now here is what just happened, according to NPR.
“On Thursday, though, the department quietly changed that language. The guidance now says, “As of Sept. 29, 2022, borrowers with federal student loans not held by ED cannot obtain one-time debt relief by consolidating those loans into Direct Loans.” [emphasis added]
Last night, as word spread of the changed deadline date–a deadline that had already passed–social media platforms exploded with posts from angry borrowers saying that the Biden administration had changed the rules without any warning and had pushed millions of Americans out of eligibility for loan forgiveness.
In so doing, it appears the administration has angered both the political left with the new rules and the political right by initiating the loan forgiveness program, which the right believes is illegal.
JUST IN: In a remarkable reversal that will affect the fortunes of millions of student loan borrowers, the U.S. Department of Education quietly changed its rules on who is eligible for President Biden's comprehensive student debt relief program. https://t.co/Hsg5CSkBII
— NPR (@NPR) September 29, 2022
What is your opinion about the student loan forgiveness program and the new rules quietly announced yesterday? Please share your thoughts by emailing [email protected]. Thank you.
