The News of Us
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us
No Result
View All Result
The News of Us
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us
No Result
View All Result
The News of Us
No Result
View All Result

Biden administration waives rule for disabled borrowers, but advocates say much more could be done

The Education Department is ensuring that 230,000 disabled borrowers approved for loan forgiveness are not derailed by paperwork during the pandemic, but advocates say the agency can help nearly twice as many by automating the process.

Anyone who is declared by a physician, the Social Security Administration or Department of Veterans Affairs to be totally and permanently disabled is eligible to have their federal student debt canceled. Those who benefit are subject to a three-year monitoring period, in which they must submit annual documentation verifying their income does not exceed the poverty line.

On Monday, the department said it will waive the paperwork requirement during the coronavirus pandemic, retroactive to March 13, 2020, when President Donald Trump declared a national emergency.

The agency estimates the move will help more than 230,000 borrowers, including 41,000 who had a total of $1.3 billion in loans reinstated during the health crisis for failing to verify their earnings. Those who lost their discharge amid the pandemic will regain the benefit in coming weeks.

“Borrowers with total and permanent disabilities should focus on their well-being, not put their health on the line to submit earnings information during the COVID-19 emergency,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “Waiving these requirements will ensure no borrower who is totally and permanently disabled risks having to repay their loans simply because they could not submit paperwork.”

Consumer groups say issuing a waiver is merely tinkering around the edges of a troubled system when bolder moves are needed. Some had anticipated that the Biden administration would automatically discharge the federal student loans of eligible borrowers, rather than require them to submit an application for debt forgiveness.

“Let’s be clear: Today’s announcement is not a victory for students,” Alex Elson, an attorney at the D.C.-based nonprofit National Student Legal Defense Network, said about the waiver Monday. “There are roughly 400,000 borrowers with disabilities who … are legally owed debt relief. The Department of Education knows exactly who they are but is choosing to do nothing for them.”

Working with the Social Security Administration since 2016, the Education Department has been identifying borrowers receiving disability payments and have the specific designation of “Medical Improvement Not Expected,” which indicates they are eligible for the discharge.

The agencies ultimately found about 400,000 matches and encouraged those borrowers to apply, but few did. Nearly 70 percent of those eligible borrowers, who hold an estimated $14 billion in student debt, have not received relief, according to data the department provided Congress.

A bipartisan coalition of congressional lawmakers, including Sens. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), had urged Trump to automatically discharge the debt, much like his administration had done in 2019 for permanently disabled veterans. But the Trump administration failed to act, while hundreds of thousands of disabled borrowers defaulted on their loans.

On a call with reporters Monday, a senior Education Department official said automating disability discharges would require new rulemaking and a renegotiation of the agreement the agency has with the Social Security Administration. The department is looking into the option among others to streamline the process but cautioned that it would take time to execute.

Elson argues the department “should waive negotiated rulemaking and issue a new regulation that automates discharges for these borrowers,” which is what the Trump administration did for veterans. Attorneys at Student Defense, he said, are evaluating the legal options to get disabled borrowers timely relief.

The existing disability discharge process has been widely criticized for being difficult to navigate and excessively complicated. A 2016 Government Accountability Office review of the program found borrowers were routinely derailed by the income verification process because the Education Department failed to clearly state that failure to submit the form would lead to their loans being reinstated.

About 98 percent of reinstated disability discharges happened not because earnings were too high, but because borrowers simply did not submit the requested documentation, according to the GAO. Critics of the process say the bureaucracy bolsters the argument for automation.

[Read More…]

Previous Post

People are getting less hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines

Next Post

Covid-19: CDC head warns of ‘impending doom’ in US

Related Posts

Politics

Johnny Depp & Amber Heard Pictured Arriving At Court As $50M Defamation Trial Begins

Politics

SpaceX capsule carrying businessmen that paid $55M each docks at space station

Politics

Jeopardy’s Ken Jennings Shared The Cutest Fan Letter Ever From A Young Game Show Enthusiast

Politics

Behind on filing your tax return? Make this key move

Politics

Following Will Smith Oscar slap, Daniel Radcliffe says he’s ‘dramatically bored of hearing people’s opinions’

Politics

Don’t bet on the end of Vladimir Putin

Next Post

Covid-19: CDC head warns of 'impending doom' in US

Follow us for latest Business News | Political News | Science & Technology News | Health News.

Subscribe Us

By clicking subscribe, I authorize: (1) The News Of Us to use and share my information in accordance with its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and (2) The News Of Us or third-party companies, including The News Of Us’s business partners, to contact me by email with offers for goods and services at the email address provided. Please note that the information you have provided to us may be supplemented with additional information obtained from other sources.
Loading

© 2021 The News of Us, - All Rights Reserved.

  • Subscribe Us
  • Contact Us
  • Unsubscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Service
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us

© 2021 The News of Us, - All Rights Reserved.