Some student-loan borrowers might get up to $20,000 in debt cancellation through Biden’s new plan — but experts who helped craft it are pushing for even more – By Ayelet Sheffey (Business Insider) / Dec 17, 2023
- The final negotiation session for Biden’s second attempt at debt relief concluded on December 12.
- Negotiators disagreed with some of the Education Department’s proposals, including a cap on relief.
- Two of the negotiators told BI they hope borrowers with hardship will be included in the final plan.
A key step toward crafting President Joe Biden’s next attempt at student-loan forgiveness ended on a contentious note.
Since October, the Education Department has been meeting with a group of negotiators — comprised of borrowers, legal experts, advocates, and more — to provide input on what student-debt relief under the Higher Education Act of 1965 should look like.
After the Supreme Court struck down Biden’s first attempt at debt relief at the end of June, the Education Department promptly announced it would pursue another route under the HEA, which requires the administration to undergo a process known as negotiated rulemaking. The process is lengthy, and it entails a series of negotiation sessions with stakeholders to help create the draft text, and the public later has an opportunity to comment on the proposals.
