Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced a series of important measures to address problems with student loan servicing. The changes will ensure that approximately 3.6 million borrowers receive additional credit toward debt forgiveness and will result in immediate debt cancellation for 40,000 borrowers. In response, Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Today’s announcement demonstrates the president’s continued commitment to student loan borrowers. These fixes make good on a promise from the federal government that if borrowers do their part in paying their loans—whether through the Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program or through income-driven repayment (IDR)—the federal government will do its part in forgiving their outstanding loan balances after meeting the conditions of those programs.
In addition to this relief for borrowers, these actions will lead to increased oversight of student loan servicers and the implementation of processes that will prevent future harm to borrowers by ensuring that IDR payments are appropriately counted and tracked.
The announcement today builds on the work the administration has already done over the past year, including canceling more than $17 billion in debt for 725,000 borrowers and taking steps to improve college affordability and protect students from predatory institutions.
In the long term, Congress, the Department of Education, loan servicers, and other stakeholders must work together to fix our broken student loan system and protect borrowers from harmful practices.
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For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Tricia Woodcome at [email protected].