Student loan forgiveness: Some borrowers will restart payments

Student loan forgiveness: Some borrowers will restart payments

President Joe Biden has signed legislation that lifts the nation’s debt ceiling and adjusts spending for some major government initiatives.

The bipartisan effort includes a deal on student loan forgiveness: All people with federal student loans will restart payments after August 29. Loans will begin accruing interest then as well.

The debt deal prohibits the education secretary from extending the pause on federal student loan payments without congressional approval.

The end of this pause will affect some 43 million borrowers who, collectively, owe over a trillion dollars in federal student loan debt, according to NPR.

The Education Department has said it will notify borrowers before repayments begin.

Does this change student loan forgiveness?

No. Biden’s broader student loan debt relief effort is a separate issue from the repayment pause.

The White House still wants to cancel up to $20,000 of debt for anyone who received a Pell Grant to attend college and up to $10,000 for borrowers earning less than $125,000.

That issue is currently before the Supreme Court, which will decide whether Biden has the constitutional authority to forgive that debt. A ruling is expected in June or July.

Other efforts to update and streamline education loans and repayment options, like the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, also are underway.

In addition to restrictions on spending, the 99-page bill changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose, according to The Associated Press. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects.

Raising the nation’s debt limit, now at $31.4 trillion, will ensure that the government can borrow to pay debts already incurred.