Appeals Court Freezes Student Debt Forgiveness Program

This past Friday, a federal appeals court put a temporary, administrative hold on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, barring the administration from canceling loans covered under the policy, while the court considers a challenge to it. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay barring the discharge of any student debt under the program until the court rules on the states' request for a longer-term injunction while Thursday's decision against them is appealed.

The appeals court gave the administration until Monday to respond to the states’ request, and the states will have until Tuesday to reply to that response. The states had asked the appeals court to act before Sunday, the earliest date the Biden administration had said it would grant student loan discharges. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in September calculated the debt forgiveness would cost the government about $400 billion.

Under Biden’s plan, eligible individual borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 annually in those years will see up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt forgiven.

In North Carolina, we, the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, would love to be the bankruptcy attorney you call. If you find yourself struggling financially, being hounded by debt collectors and looking for a permanent debt-relief solution, contact the law offices of John T. Orcutt for a free consultation on getting out of debt for good.