Dems, Activists call on Biden admin to dole out more student loan forgiveness
Top Democratic lawmakers and activists are ramping up pressure on the Biden administration to proceed with wiping out student loan debt before the president’s term comes to an end. Senators Dick Durbin and Ed Markey, along with a coalition of activist groups, held a press conference in Washington, D.C., urging the Department of Education to fulfill its promise of granting federal student loan forgiveness to borrowers who attended predatory for-profit colleges.
“I’m urging the Biden administration in the closing hours of their administration – the last seven weeks – come to the rescue of these students as quickly as possible,” Durbin emphasized during a Senate floor speech.
The Education Department had previously announced plans to provide student loan forgiveness to 560,000 borrowers who had attended Corinthian Colleges Inc. and 208,000 borrowers from ITT Technical Institute. While most of these borrowers had their loans fully forgiven, there are still approximately 145,000 former Corinthian students awaiting relief, as reported by the Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL).
“The coming weeks are pivotal, and we are focused on two things,” stated PPSL in a recent statement. “First, everyone who was promised relief must receive it. Second, the Department must issue more group discharges for individuals who were victims of predatory schools.”
Despite facing legal challenges and an injunction issued by a federal court last year, activists are urging the Biden administration to push forward with student debt relief initiatives. The borrower defense loan discharge program, which is at the center of the dispute, remains on hold pending a final judgment in the case.
While the Department of Education has stated that it will not process borrower defense applications affected by the injunction, it continues to encourage borrowers to submit their claims for relief. The agency has pledged to resume adjudicating applications once the legal hurdles are cleared.
Durbin, Markey, and advocacy groups like PPSL are calling on the Biden administration to prioritize student debt relief efforts in the remaining weeks of his term. Despite inquiries from media outlets, there has been no official response from the Department of Education or the key figures involved in the campaign for student loan forgiveness.
As the debate over student loan debt rages on, borrowers and activists are hopeful that the Biden administration will take decisive action to alleviate the burden faced by millions of Americans struggling with educational debt. The fight for student loan forgiveness continues to be a top priority for Democratic lawmakers and activists alike, as they push for relief for those who have been impacted by predatory lending practices in the for-profit college sector.
