What to know about Biden's latest attempt at student loan cancellation

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What to know about Biden's latest attempt at student loan cancellation

2024-04-09 10:13 Last Updated At：10:20

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is taking another shot at student loan cancellation, hoping to deliver on a key campaign promise that he has so far failed to fulfill.

In a visit to Wisconsin on Monday, Biden detailed a proposal that would cancel at least some debt for more than 30 million Americans. It’s been in the works for months after the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first try at mass cancellation.

Biden called the court’s decision a “mistake” but ordered the Education Department to craft a new plan using a different legal authority. The latest proposal is more targeted than his original plan, focusing on those for whom student debt is a major obstacle.

Here’s what to know about the new plan:

Biden’s first attempt at widespread student loan cancellation would have erased $10,000 for borrowers with yearly incomes of up to $125,000, plus an additional $10,000 if they received federal Pell grants for low-income students. It was estimated to cost $400 billion and cancel at least some student debt for more than 40 million people.

The Supreme Court rejected that plan last year, saying Biden overstepped his authority.

The new plan uses a different legal justification — the Higher Education Act, which allows the secretary of education to waive student loan debt in certain cases. The Education Department has been going through a federal rulemaking process to clarify how the secretary can invoke that authority.

The new plan targets five categories of borrowers, focusing on those believed to be in the greatest need of help. It would provide relief to an estimated 30 million borrowers. The administration has not said how much the plan would cost.

Biden’s new proposal would offer cancellation to five categories of borrowers.

The widest-reaching provision aims to reset student loan balances for borrowers who have seen their debt grow because of unpaid interest. It would cancel up to $20,000 in interest for Americans who now owe more than they originally borrowed. That cap wouldn't apply for individuals who make less than $120,000 a year or couples who earn less than $240,000 and also are enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan.

The Education Department says 25 million people would be eligible for that relief, including 23 million who would get their interest erased entirely.

Borrowers who are eligible for other federal forgiveness programs but haven’t applied would also get their loans canceled under the new proposal. It applies to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans, among others. It’s meant to help people who missed out on forgiveness because of complex paperwork, bad advice or other obstacles. An estimated 2 million people would be eligible for that help.

All debt would be canceled for borrowers who have been repaying undergraduate loans for 20 years or more, or 25 years for those with graduate school debt. The Biden administration says it would erase loans for more than 2 million people.

Those who attended college programs of “low financial value” would be eligible for forgiveness. The plan would cancel debt for borrowers who went to institutions that lost eligibility for federal education funding because they cheated students. It would also cancel loans for people who went to college programs that left graduates with low incomes compared to their student loans.

A final category would cancel loans for Americans facing hardship that prevents them from repaying their student loans. The rule would allow the Education Department to cancel debt for borrowers who are considered highly likely to default on their loans, and it would create an application system for individuals to detail other forms of hardship.

Most of the cancellation would be done automatically with no need to apply. That would be the case for the interest cancellation, borrowers with older loans, those that attended low-value programs, and those eligible for other cancellation programs.

There’s one exception: If borrowers want to make a case that they face some sort of hardship that merits cancellation, they would need to apply individually.

The Biden administration says some debt could be canceled as soon as this fall, including interest that has snowballed on top of borrowers' loans.

That timeline would require some maneuvering. The Education Department said it plans to release a formal proposal in the “coming months.” That would usually be followed by a public comment period of 60 days. Then if the rule is finalized by Nov. 1, it would usually take effect the following July — in this case, July 2025.

But the Higher Education Act authorizes the education secretary to fast-track rules for “early implementation” in some cases. The Biden administration recently used that power to accelerate student loan cancellation offered through a new federal repayment plan. Invoking that authority could allow Biden to start canceling debt later this year.

Anything but. The Biden administration says it’s confident that the plan is allowed by the Higher Education Act. But loan cancellation of this type is uncharted territory, and conservative opponents are expected to challenge Biden’s plan in court.

Republicans have repeatedly fought Biden’s plan for student loan cancellation, saying it’s an unfair benefit shouldered by taxpayers who repaid their loans or didn’t go to college. Opponents say the Supreme Court was clear that widespread loan cancellation must come from Congress.

If Biden’s plan faces a lawsuit, courts could order the administration to halt cancellation until legal questions are sorted out. That scenario could leave the plan on hold beyond the November presidential election. Even if it survives legal challenges, a Donald Trump victory would spell almost certain doom for Biden’s plan.

If Biden’s plan is overturned after the administration starts canceling loans, it would present a thorny question: Can forgiven student loans be unforgiven?

Technically, there are ways that canceled student debt can be reinstated. But doing it on such a large scale could be difficult and costly, requiring heavy work from loan servicers contracted to work for the Education Department.

It could also be politically fraught to reinstate debt after it’s been forgiven. Ultimately it could be up to the courts to decide how to handle debt that’s already been canceled.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to Nancy Pelosi, Medgar Evers, Michelle Yeoh and 15 others

2024-05-04 08:08 Last Updated At：08:12

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 people, including civil rights icons such as the late Medgar Evers, prominent political leaders such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn, and actor Michelle Yeoh.

Biden said the recipients of the nation's highest civilian honor are “incredible people whose relentless curiosity, inventiveness, ingenuity and hope have kept faith in a better tomorrow.”

One of them, Clarence B. Jones, said in an interview that he thought a prankster was on the phone when he answered and heard the caller say they were from the White House.

“I said, ‘Is this a joke or is this serious?’" Jones recalled. The caller swore they were serious and was calling with the news that Biden wanted to recognize Jones with the medal.

Jones, 93, was honored for his activism during the Civil Rights Movement. He's a lawyer who provided legal counsel to Martin Luther King Jr. and helped write the opening paragraphs of the “I Have a Dream” speech that King delivered at the Lincoln Memorial at the 1963 March on Washington.

The White House said the recipients are “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”

The 10 men and nine women hail from the worlds of politics, sports, entertainment, civil rights and LGBTQ+ advocacy, science and religion. Three medals were awarded posthumously.

Seven politicians were among the recipients: former New York mayor and philanthropist Michael Bloomberg, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, climate activist and former Vice President Al Gore, Biden's former climate envoy John Kerry, former Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who died in 2013, Clyburn, the Democratic congressman from South Carolina, and Pelosi, the Democratic congresswoman from California.

Biden in his remarks acknowledged that Clyburn's endorsement in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary helped him score a thundering win in South Carolina, powering him to his party's nomination and ultimately the White House. Bloomberg mounted a short-lived bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

“I can say this without fear of contradiction,” Biden said. “I would not be standing here as president making these awards were it not for Jim. I mean that sincerely.”

In addition to representing North Carolina in the Senate, Dole, a Republican and the widow of former Sen. Bob Dole, also served as transportation secretary and labor secretary and was president of the American Red Cross. She currently leads a foundation supporting military caregivers.

Pelosi is the first and only woman ever elected to the speaker's post, putting her second in the line of succession to the presidency. Biden referenced her legislative achievements, noted her actions during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and said "history will remember you, Nancy, as the greatest speaker of the House of Representatives.”

Evers received posthumous recognition for his work more than six decades ago fighting segregation in Mississippi in the 1960s as the NAACP's first field officer in the state. He was 37 when he was fatally shot in the driveway of his home in June 1963. His daughter, Reena, who was 8 years old when her father was killed, accepted his medal.

Yeoh made history last year by becoming the first Asian woman to win an Academy Award for best actress for her performance in “ Everything, Everywhere All at Once.”

Jim Thorpe, who died in 1953, was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States.

Judy Shepard co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation, named after her son, a gay 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who died in 1998 after he was beaten and tied to a fence.

Jones said he felt “very touched” after he digested what the caller had said.

“I'm 93 years old with some health challenges, but I woke up this morning thanks to the grace of God,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “I'm looking forward to whatever the White House would like for me to do.”

The other medal recipients are:

— Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit Catholic priest who founded and runs Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention and rehabilitation program.

— Phil Donahue, a journalist and former daytime TV talk-show host.

— Katie Ledecky, the most decorated female swimmer in history.

— Opal Lee, an activist who is best known for pushing to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Biden did so in 2021.

— Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman in space and the second female director of NASA's Johnson Space Center.

— Jane Rigby, an astronomer who is chief scientist of the world's most powerful telescope. She grew up in Delaware, Biden's home state.

— Teresa Romero, president of the United Farm Workers and the first Hispanic woman to lead a national union in the U.S. The union has endorsed Biden's reelection bid and backed him in 2020.

In 2022, Biden presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 people, including gymnast Simone Biles, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and gun-control advocate Gabby Giffords.

Biden knows how it feels to receive the medal. As president, Barack Obama presented Biden, his vice president, with the medal a week before their administration ended in 2017.