President Joe Biden’s administration said Dec. 20 that it is withdrawing its efforts to implement two student loan forgiveness plans.
Two submissions to the Federal Register outlined the Department of Education’s decision to withdraw the efforts. Department of Education Undersecretary James Kvaal also notified a federal court of the changes on December 20.
Both Federal Register filings described operational challenges.
“After further consideration of the operational challenges in implementing the proposals in the [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking]the Secretary withdraws the [notice] and terminates the rulemaking process,” the Department of Education said in filings.
Of the two initiatives withdrawn on December 20, one sought “waive in whole or in part any student loan debt owed to the Department based on the Secretary’s determination that a borrower has experienced or is experiencing hardship related to such loan.”
He other would have allowed the secretary of education to waive payment of several categories of outstanding amounts.
In announcing the withdrawal of the efforts, the department said it was not changing its view that they were authorized under the education secretary’s powers under the Higher Education Act.
The decision came during the final days of the Biden administration, as he faces a court battle over the president’s efforts to alleviate student debt. In 2023, the US Supreme Court struck down one of Biden’s debt relief plans in the case. Biden vs. Nebraska.
Since then, the administration has made multiple attempts to provide some form of student debt relief. a federal judge blocked part of Biden’s loan forgiveness efforts in October.
Also on December 20, the administration announced was canceling the debt of 55,000 public service workers. According to Education Departmentadditional relief amounted to $4.28 billion.
“From the first day of my administration, I promised to make sure higher education was a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in an announcement. “Thanks to our actions, millions of people across the country now have breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to postpone due to the burden of student loan debt.”
