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Biden Walks Back Student Loan Forgiveness—Some Borrowers With Privately Held Federal Loans No Longer Eligible
ForbesDec 24, 2022
The Facts
On Thursday, the Biden admin. changed the qualifications for its student-loan forgiveness program in response to several lawsuits from Republican-led states.
The changes specifically affect Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) borrowers, whose loans were issued by private banks but backed by the federal government. The White House previously said it would allow FFEL borrowers to consolidate their loans into federal loans, but around 770K FFEL borrowers will now be disqualified from the forgiveness program.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Republicans are filing lawsuits as shameless political stunts. Individuals like Garrison can now opt out of the program, and therefore he has no legal ground to stand on. As for the attorneys general, they can only speculate that the program will negatively impact their states, and speculative injury has no standing in court.
Republican narrative
The Biden administration's arguments are full of statistical lies and are morally bankrupt. One study estimates the total cost of the program to be a staggering $1T over 10 years. Millions of non-college graduates - who make far less than their degree-holding counterparts - will be footing the bill through rising inflation and taxes.
