Biden\u2019s loan forgiveness efforts have faced major resistance, but people are bracing for worse under president-elect<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Biden<\/a> has pushed during his presidency to cancel student debt for tens of millions of Americans. Now Donald Trump<\/a>, who has branded such efforts \u201cvile\u201d, is preparing to succeed him \u2013 leaving borrowers at risk of losing relief they received, or had been waiting for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary Ann Rockwell, 72, is a librarian in upstate New York. She has grappled with her student loans for years, as interest ballooned while she often struggled to afford to make payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m entitled to be forgiven,\u201d she said, having completed thepaperwork for loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. But she is still in \u201climbo\u201d, waiting for it to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s taking so long to happen that I\u2019m afraid, when Trump gets in, everything will change on day one,\u201d said Rockwell, a member of the Debt Collective, a union of debtors. \u201cI\u2019m very nervous about it. I feel like I can\u2019t retire. I can\u2019t even think about it to function. I\u2019ll be facing a house payment of student loans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden\u2019s bid to make higher education \u201ca ticket to the middle class\u201d by forgiving loans worth hundreds of billions of dollars has faced significant resistance. Federal courts blocked<\/a> his administration\u2019s attempts to administer student loan forgiveness to millions, incited by Republican-led lawsuits to block the plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In October Biden\u2019s officials launched a fresh attempt to provide assistance, proposing<\/a> rules to authorize debt relief for borrowers facing economic hardship though the Biden administration withdrew\u2002<\/a>their plans for student loan forgiveness on 20 December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the election of Trump, who has called<\/a> for shutting down the Department of Education, has left many student loan borrowers \u2013 still trying to obtain forgiveness, or relief from their debt \u2013 bracing for their efforts to be further hampered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the first Trump administration, 99% of applicants<\/a> for Public Service Loan Forgiveness were denied relief and overall student loan debt grew<\/a> from just over $1.4tn in 2017 to just under $1.7tn when he left office four years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the Biden administration, about 4.4 million borrowers have received<\/a> student loan forgiveness totaling $166.5bn. Trump\u2019s transition team has reportedly<\/a> been discussing ways to quickly pull the plug<\/a> on student debt relief programs pushed under Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarah Babcock, a self-employed acupuncturist and single mother in Massachusetts, has been struggling with her student loan debt since the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI live month to month, constantly stressed and anxious about making ends meet, with growing credit card debt,\u201d said Babcock, 50. \u201cThe student loan debt I took on for my education has only increased over time, and after over 25 years of repayment, I owe more than I originally borrowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve made no progress, and the debt continues to grow. Depending on what happens in the next administration, bankruptcy is a very real prospect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Indiana, Chris Alldredge, 53, and his wife, who run the student debt relief group Do Us Part, have been pushing to receive relief for themselves and other borrowers with joint spousal consolidated student loans<\/a>. Their loan balance was about $98,000 in 2005, he said, and now stands at $149,000 due to interest, despite being in income-driven repayment plans and making monthly payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Alldredge advocated for the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act, which was passed by Congress in 2022, he and his wife are still waiting on the law to be implemented to separate their loans so they can qualify for relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, as Alldredge has worked in public service since 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy wife and I have not benefited from student loan policies under the Biden administration, and we expect this situation to get much worse under Trump\u2019s second administration,\u201d said Alldredge. \u201cThey\u2019re not working with any urgency to move borrowers like my wife and me over the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alldredge is now bracing for the \u201cgood chance\u201d that he and his wife receive no \u201creal reprieve\u201d after all. Should that be the case, \u201cwe can either not pay any more and go into a very costly and punitive default, continue to pay until we die, or liquidate the only asset we have been able to gain in our lifetime: our house\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2018Bankruptcy is a very real prospect\u2019<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u2018The whole system is a nightmare\u2019<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n