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☆ Biden admin defends stalled student loan plan in Supreme Court brief
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department late on Wednesday filed a brief with the Supreme Court defending President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan and arguing that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona had clear authority to provide the loan forgiveness. Biden announced in August that the U.S. government would forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Students who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students would have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled under the plan, which has been on hold due to legal challenges. Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Andrea Shalal, editing by Dan WhitcombOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department late on Wednesday filed a brief with the Supreme Court defending President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans, arguing that two cases lacked standing to challenge the debt relief. Biden in August said the U.S. government would forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Students who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students would have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled under the plan. In fact, the Justice Department said, the HEROES Act expressly exempted the department from notice and comment procedures. Over 16 million borrowers have already been approved for debt relief and millions more have applied.

☆ Biden's administration just filed a full legal defense of its student-loan forgiveness plan to the Supreme Court, saying the debt relief falls 'comfortably' within the law
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Justice Department filed a defense of Biden's student-debt relief to SCOTUS on Wednesday night. This filing comes ahead of February 28, when the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the two lawsuits that have blocked the implementation of the debt relief. The other lawsuit was filed by two student-loan borrowers who sued because they did not qualify for the full $20,000 amount of relief. Another primary argument Biden's administration has pushed back on is the idea that the debt relief would harm MOHELA. The Justice Department argued MOHELA is a separate entity from Missouri and should not be considered alongside harms to the state.

☆ Delinquent student loans can reduce Social Security by $2,500 a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Getty ImagesIf you are delinquent on federal student loans and collect Social Security benefits, you may have your monthly checks reduced. Social Security benefits are typically subject to partial withholdings after prolonged federal student loan delinquencies. Today's Social Security beneficiaries who are behind on federal student loans are not subject to benefit withholdings, as those collections have been suspended as part of the federal student loan payment pause that has been in effect since March 2020, Minsky noted. "No one is having their Social Security checks garnished right now," Minsky said. How policy may influence debtsBiden has proposed broad student loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 for federal student loans, or up to $20,000 for Pell grant recipients.

☆ Resuming student-loan payments this year without Biden's debt cancellation could be especially harmful to borrowers with auto and credit card debt, the NY Fed says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Even if the Supreme Court strikes down student-debt relief, payments will likely resume this year. This could be particularly harmful for borrowers with other forms of debt, the NY Fed said. The Fed said a resumption without relief would put borrowers with other forms of debt, like credit card and auto, at increased risk of falling into delinquency. "Eligible borrowers have always had higher delinquency rates on these debts," the Fed wrote, referring to borrowers who would be eligible for Biden's student-debt relief. Borrowers just don't want to see payments resume without relief.

☆ Benedict's death clears path for Pope Francis to retire of old age in future
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It could also prompt the current pontiff to review what happens to future popes who decide to shuffle away from office because of old age rather than holding on until they die. Francis is now 86, one year older than Benedict was when he retired. Australian Cardinal George Pell, a conservative who was close to Benedict, has written that while a retired pontiff could retain the title of "pope emeritus", he should return to being a cardinal, and be known as "Cardinal (surname), Pope Emeritus". They say a former pope should not return to being a cardinal, as Pell proposes, but be called "Bishop Emeritus of Rome". He said he would want it to be near a large church so he could spend his final days hearing confessions.

☆ Two popes in the Vatican - sometimes more crowd than company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Pope Francis later removed him from a top job in the Vatican. "In the Catholic Church, symbols are important," said Father Tom Reese, a Washington-based Catholic author and commentator for Religion News Service. Reese, a Church liberal, found agreement from an unusual source - conservative Australian Cardinal George Pell, a former Vatican treasurer and close associate of Benedict in his retirement. Reese and others have suggested that a former pontiff be called "bishop emeritus of Rome" and be subject to the rules that cover retired bishops. He has said he would want to be called Bishop Emeritus of Rome and live not in the Vatican but in a home for retired priests in the Italian capital "because its my diocese".

☆ Here are the people who will lose out most if student loan forgiveness falls through
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

People of colorThe student debt crisis is cited as a main factor for the wide racial wealth gap in the U.S. today. Black college graduates owe an average $7,400 more than their white peers, a Brookings Institution report found. And that inequity only gets worse with time: Black college students owe more than $52,000 four years after graduation, compared with around $28,000 for the average white college graduate. WomenWomen were widely recognized as the biggest winner of Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, since they owe two-thirds of the country's outstanding student debt. "Women will be the most affected if loan forgiveness fails," Kantrowitz said.

☆ How 10 student-loan borrowers are coping with the highs and lows of Biden's debt relief announcement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden announced up to $20,000 in student-debt relief at the end of August. Since then, two lawsuits have blocked the plan, and its fate rests with the Supreme Court. Here are 10 borrowers' stories on what they have experienced since Biden's August announcement. Since the loan forgiveness had an income cap, the Education Department was unable to automatically cancel the debt and needed until October to make an online application available for borrowers. Conservative groups used that time to file lawsuits to block the relief, and Biden's administration responding by further narrowing the eligibility for the relief to exclude some borrowers with privately-held loans to avoid litigation.

☆ The Tom Brady of Other Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Francesca Paris | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Meet them, and decide for yourself:The Tom Brady of Paramedics Jesse Izaguirre, 70Gardena, Calif.Jesse Izaguirre loves working with younger paramedics. Hopefully never.”The Tom Brady of Bakers Helen Fletcher, 83Clayton, Mo. Chalk it up to a great big fib.”The Tom Brady of Artists Lilian Thomas Burwell, 95Highland Beach, Md. “I should’ve signed them.”The Tom Brady of Biologists Maria Elena Zavala, 72Los AngelesProfessional longevity runs in Maria Elena Zavala’s family. It didn’t vanish when they crossed the border.”The Tom Brady of Loggers Earl Pollock, 82Hamburg, Ark.

☆ What to know about the two student loan forgiveness cases the Supreme Court will hear legal arguments on in February
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Student loan borrowers protest the GOP outside the Republican National Committee's offices in Washington, D.C,. for denying student loan relief to 40 million borrowers on Nov. 18, 2022Two of the legal challenges brought against President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan have reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Individuals who earned more than $125,000, or families making more than $250,000, were excluded from the relief. The battle has made its way through the courts, and now the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have scheduled their high-profile legal arguments over the plan for the end of February. Here's what you need to know about the two cases that will be heard.

So yeah, I’m proud of it,” McConnell said, hailing it as an “extremely important” win for conservatives. He said it’ll mean they no longer “pay a ransom on the domestic side” in order to secure hefty military spending. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.. said he’s “disappointed” in the unequal spending levels but argued that the Kentucky Republican was using his leverage. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks alongside Sens. Democrats say McConnell was pushing for deals due to the rising support in the Democratic Party in recent years to end the filibuster.

☆ 'Secure 2.0' would provide a limited federal 'match' on contributions for retirement savers with lower income
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Under a provision included in a legislative proposal known as "Secure 2.0" — which is included in an omnibus appropriations bill that cleared the Senate on Thursday and awaited a House vote — a retirement "saver's match" would be implemented, essentially changing how an existing tax credit works. That amount would be a maximum 50% of up to $2,000 in contributions to a qualifying account (so a maximum $1,000 match per individual). The current credit isn't always useful for taxpayersThe move to allow a federal matching contribution is being sought because the current tax credit is nonrefundable, meaning that if you owe no federal income tax, you don't get the credit. The match would be "a direct, substantial way to increase the retirement savings of lower and middle-income workers, and incentivize good retirement planning habits," Carlisle said. More than 108 million people would be eligible for the saver's match, according to the American Retirement Association.

☆ Pell Grants could rise to a maximum $7,395 next year, in the biggest increase in over a decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Olelole | E+ | Getty ImagesAs part of its massive $1.7 trillion spending package for 2023, Congress is planning to up the maximum annual Pell Grant award to $7,395 — a $500 increase from this school year. President Joe Biden had previously called to raise the Pell Grant by even more, to a maximum allotment of $8,670 in 2023, and has said he wants to see the payments double by 2029. Pell Grants are one of the biggest sources of financial aid available to college students, and more than 6 million students received them in 2020. Each year, Congress decides how much to allocate to the maximum Pell Grant, and in some years it has reduced the payment. There's a limit to how many Pell Grants you can getCollege students typically can receive the grant for up to six years.

☆ Why Biden's student-loan forgiveness ignited a debate over the fairness of debt relief, according to an ethicist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Dr. Kate Padgett Walsh, a debt ethicist, said those people view fairness "too narrowly." President Joe Biden arrived at an answer at the end of August – he would cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000. "Our student debt relief program will help borrowers most at risk of delinquency or default from the pandemic get back on their feet," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote on Twitter. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in August that Biden's plan to cancel student debt is "astonishingly unfair." "The financing of higher education is now so broken that we need to think about these questions of fairness and justice."

☆ Student loan forgiveness: 9 million people received emails that mistkanely said their application was approved
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Katie Lobosco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —About nine million people received an email last month from the Department of Education that mistakenly said their application for student loan forgiveness had been approved, adding to the confusion surrounding President Joe Biden’s debt relief program. Thus far, no one has received debt forgiveness because the program is blocked by federal courts. The nine million borrowers who received the inaccurate emails have now started to receive new emails from the government correcting the error. “Due to a vendor error, you recently received an email with a subject line indicating your application for the one-time Student Loan Debt Relief Plan had been approved. The department received about 26 million applications for student loan forgiveness before the program was halted by a federal district judge in November.

☆ Colleges should provide the true cost of attendance after report finds most schools don't give clear information
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Katie Lobosco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Congress should require colleges to give students an accurate price for the cost of attendance, the Government Accountability Office said in a recent report that found that most colleges fail to provide all the financial information students need. Prospective college students usually receive a financial aid letter from schools once they are accepted. “Federal law doesn’t require colleges to include clear, standard information in all of their financial aid offers. The bill is one of many legislative efforts that aim to provide students and their families better information about the cost of college. In addition, last month, the Department of Justice released new guidance that aims to make it easier to have federal student loan debt discharged in bankruptcy – a particularly difficult legal process under the previous policy.

☆ The Supreme Court agrees to hear a 2nd student-loan forgiveness case next year to decide millions of borrowers' fates
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Supreme Court agreed to hear a second challenge to President Joe Biden's student-debt relief. The challenge was brought by two student-loan borrowers who didn't qualify for the full amount of relief. The department took matters to the Supreme Court, asking it to make the final ruling on the legality of the debt relief. The Supreme Court earlier this month already agreed to take up a separate challenge brought by six Republican-led states that argued the loan forgiveness would hurt their states' tax revenues. The Supreme Court is expected hand down decisions in both cases by next June.

[1/2] A view of the U.S. Supreme Court building on the first day of the court's new term in Washington, U.S. October 3, 2022. The Supreme Court on Dec. 1 said it would hear arguments on the legality of the debt relief program in the other case pursued by six mostly Republican-led states. Biden announced in August that the U.S. government would forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. Students who received Pell Grants to benefit lower-income college students would have up to $20,000 of their debt canceled. The Congressional Budget Office in September calculated that the debt forgiveness program would cost taxpayers about $400 billion.

More than 40 million borrowers like Morales-Bartlett were eligible to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt under President Joe Biden’s one-time student loan forgiveness plan. Meanwhile, the pandemic-era federal student loan repayment pause has been extended while the government awaits the court’s decision. The average federal student loan debt nears $30,000. Brown’s son still has about $50,000 in student debt despite being one of the thousands of North Carolinians who received some student loan relief as part of a multistate settlement with Navient, one of the nation’s largest student loan servicers, over allegations of unfair and deceptive student loan servicing and predatory lending practices, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Stein's office. He also applied to the currently blocked student loan forgiveness program and is waiting to hear back.

☆ A conservative group that blocked student-loan forgiveness wants the Supreme Court to take it up as the second case on the matter, arguing that 'Congress never could have fathomed' Biden would cancel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A conservative group that blocked Biden's student-debt relief asked SCOTUS to take on the case. The group argued Biden overstepped his authority to enact relief. On Wednesday, the Job Creators Network, a conservative group representing plaintiffs who sued Biden's debt relief in October, wrote in a legal filing that the Supreme Court should take up the case. The group argued that Biden should have gone through the typically rulemaking process and solicited public comment rather than decide to cancel student debt without input from the public or Congress. It's likely the Supreme Court could agree to combine both cases and hear them early next year.

☆ Giving babies a government trust fund at birth could help get rid of student debt and build wealth, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Democrats released a report highlighting the benefits of "Baby Bonds," which are trust funds given to kids at birth. The report said that the funds would help Americans build wealth over a lifetime. It could help reduce the need for students to take on excessive debt to go to college. On Wednesday, the Joint Economic Committee — led by Democratic Rep. Don Beyer — released a report on the benefits of "Baby Bonds." Baby Bonds could be a part of that.

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness might not be doomed if the Supreme Court strikes it down — he could take another legal path
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Some advocates and lawmakers argue the Higher Education Act can be used to cancel student debt. "I believe it probably would have been better for him to use the Higher Education Act of 1965," Weiss said. The Higher Education Act as an alternativeSome Democratic lawmakers and experts argue that the authority to cancel student debt has always existed under the Higher Education Act. Legal experts have also voiced support for the Higher Education Act. The Education Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on whether it is considering pursuing alternative routes to debt relief, including via the Higher Education Act.

Rulings by lower courts in two challenges filed against the debt relief program have put Biden's policy on ice. Biden announced in August that the U.S. government would forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples. The Congressional Budget Office in September calculated that the debt forgiveness program would cost taxpayers about $400 billion. Biden and his predecessor Trump had invoked the law to pause student loan repayments. Biden on Nov. 22 extended the repayment pause to no later than next June 30 to give the Supreme Court time to decide the case.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday delayed a decision on whether to grant President Joe Biden's bid to implement his student loan forgiveness plan, announcing instead that it will hear full oral arguments on an expedited basis. In a brief order, the court said it would hear arguments in February with a decision soon to follow. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday refused to lift that hold, meaning that the administration could soon appeal that case to the Supreme Court too. A federal judge had ruled that the states did not have legal standing to pursue the lawsuit, but the appeals court disagreed, focusing on a Missouri agency that services federal student loans. The overall program is anticipated to help more than 40 million borrowers, the administration has said.

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