U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while announcing a new plan for federal student loan relief during a visit to Madison Regional Technical College Tuax Campus in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S., April 8, 2024.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
Some federal student loan payments 8 million borrowers A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education said the suspension would last more than six months.
Monday’s development comes as the Biden administration is embroiled in a number of legal battles being waged by Republicans over recent student loan relief efforts.
The borrowers whose monthly payments will be forgiven are those enrolled in the Biden administration’s new SAVE plan. A Department of Education spokesperson said SAVE registrants will be given an interest-free general deferment.
A federal court earlier this year issued an injunction preventing the department from implementing parts of its “Valuable Education Savings” plan. The agency billed SAVE as its most affordable repayment plan ever, with many people expecting to see their monthly payments cut in half.
The Republican attorneys general of Kansas and Missouri who led the legal challenges to SAVE said President Joe Biden essentially They claim they are trying to find a roundabout route to student loan forgiveness.
SAVE contains two important provisions that have been the subject of litigation. For one thing, it has lower monthly payments than other federal student loan repayment plans, and for students with low balances, it can lead to faster debt repayment.
Before the legal challenge, the Department of Education had already forgiven $5.5 billion in student loans to 414,000 borrowers through the SAVE plan.
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