NAICU Washington Update

Courts Halt the Forgiveness of Federal Student Loans

November 18, 2022

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency request to halt the Biden Administration’s student loan debt forgiveness program and a Texas district court struck down the program as well. Due to these decisions, the Biden Administration has already appealed the Texas district court decision and announced in a court filing yesterday that it is appealing the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to the Supreme Court. 

Overall, nearly 26 million borrowers have applied for relief, however the Biden Administration is no longer accepting applications due to the court decisions. Of the 26 million applications, 16 million have been approved but the Department of Education has yet to actually forgive any student loans.  The continued controversy over the student loan debt forgiveness initiative comes as no surprise and with the Republicans slated to take over the majority in the House of Representatives, vigorous oversight of the actions by the Department can be expected. 
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