Joe Biden can do a lot to relieve the debt burden. But it’s unclear whether he will. EricLevitz writes
Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images Next February, 42 million U.S. households will need to make a student loan payment for the first time in 22 months. Or so the White House has been warning.
Their position has much to recommend it. The Omicron variant is threatening to birth a winter wave of unprecedented proportions, with unpredictable consequences for the labor market . Meanwhile, resuming student loan payments will reduce the disposable incomes of 13 percent of Americans at a time when rising prices are already straining household budgets. According to an estimate from the Roosevelt Institute, the administration’s current plan will cost indebted households $85 billion next year.
Postponing documentation requirements for income-based repayment programs. Borrowers enrolled in income-based repayment programs typically need to provide tax documents verifying their earnings and family size in order to secure lower monthly payment obligations. In February, however, borrowers will be able to simply self-certify their incomes and family size over the phone with a loan servicer, and will not need to provide supporting documentation until August 2022.
There is still much more that the Biden administration could do to make the resumption of repayment less onerous for borrowers and harmful for the economy. Three proposals have garnered considerable attention in recent days, and two of them actually have a real chance of happening: 2) Waive interest payments on student loans for the duration of the pandemic. Earlier this month, a group of Senate Democrats led by Raphael Warnock of Georgia asked the administration to waive interest on student loan repayments until the public health emergency is over, in order to ease burdens on borrowers as they navigate the repayment process . The administration has not explicitly ruled this option out.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 empowers the Department of Education to “compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption.” And thanks to a reform passed under Barack Obama in 2010, the federal government now owns roughly 92 percent of all student debt. Which is to say, more than $1.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Harris sharply defends Biden in interview with CharlamagneVice President Kamala Harris got into a testy exchange with media host Charlamagne Tha God Friday, defending President Joe Biden from questions over roadblocks to passage of his social spending package. Harris sat for a taped interview with Charlamagne airing Friday night on Comedy Central’s “Tha God’s Honest Truth,' where she touted the administration’s infrastructure package, work addressing maternal mortality issues and police reform. Manchin, he said, is “hurting black people in particular” by holding up progress on key parts of the president’s agenda, and he warned that Black voter turnout could decline if the roadblocks continue.
Read more »
Kamala Harris fires back when asked: Is 'real president' Manchin or Biden?Charlamagne tha God pressed the vice president on whether Senator Joe Manchin was a problem for the administration.
Read more »
Biden Touted As Modern-Day FDR After Getting Hand Job From Cousin In Upstate New YorkWASHINGTON—Applauding the commander-in-chief for channeling one of the United States’ most popular past leaders, media pundits touted President Joe Biden as a modern-day Franklin Delano Roosevelt Wednesday after he got a hand job from his cousin in upstate New York. “If you had told me during the primaries that the…
Read more »
The Jonas Brothers enlist President Biden for viral 'Joe Byron' TikTok videoThe Jonas Brothers posted a video of themselves in the White House recreating lines like 'Who's the president man, who's the president? Byron! Byron! What do you want to tell Joe Byron right now?What's up baby... take me out to dinner.'
Read more »
Biden visits graves of first wife, infant daughter on 49th anniversary of car crashPresident Joe Biden on Saturday commemorated the 49th anniversary of the car crash that killed his first wife and infant daughter, visiting their graves at the
Read more »
Senate confirms more than 30 ambassadors, other Biden nominees to end 2021Senate confirms more than 30 ambassadors and other Biden admin. nominees after Majority Leader Schumer agrees to schedule a vote concerning Nord Stream 2 sanctions.
Read more »