New White House Plan Could Reduce or Eliminate Accumulated Interest for 30 Million Student Loan Borrowers

By Charlene Crowell | Trice Edney Wire (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Multiple recent announcements from the Biden administration offer new hope for the 43.2 million borrowers hoping to get relief from the onerous burden of a collective $1.727 trillion dollars of student loan debt. On April 16, the federal Education Department initiated a regulatory change that could give an estimated 30 million student loan borrowers, including Black and Latino borrowers, up to $20,000 in interest forgiveness if they have: Paid on their loans for 20 years or longer; Balances that in repayment are now larger than the original amount borrowed; or Enrolled previously in income-driven repayment. If approved as presented, forgiveness could commence this fall. Further, and unlike some other programs, no relief application would be required. It is worth noting that according to the Education Data Initiative, 2023 marked the first-ever annual decline in student loan debt, which should be credited to the Biden Administration’s efforts over the past three years. A related White House fact sheet underscored the significance the interest reduction plan could have on the nation’s racial wealth gap. “Four years after graduation, Black bachelor’s degree borrowers, on average, owe more than they borrowed,” said the White House....