Has the federal government taken steps to lighten student debt burdens in recent years?
By Lisa Freedland
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YES
The federal government has made legislative and regulatory changes in recent years in an effort to lighten debt burdens on student borrowers, including:
- Terminating federally-backed student loans made through private lenders.
- Lowering the monthly repayment rate of income-based plans from 15% to 10% of borrowers' income above the poverty line.
- Shortening the amount of time before borrowers enrolled in the plans may have their balance forgiven from 25 years to 20 years.
- Making it easier for students to recoup tuition lost to fraudulent practices by colleges and universities.
- Waiving new interest on student debt and suspending required repayments during the coronavirus pandemic.
Student debt remains a burden for many Americans and a political challenge for the Biden administration. The debt has more than tripled since the Federal Reserve began collecting data in 2006 and now totals $1.7 trillion.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
College Finance College Finance: Obama student loan forgiveness guide 2020
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