President Joe Biden’s administration said on Dec. 20 that it is withdrawing efforts to implement two student loan forgiveness plans.
Two filings to The Federal Register described the Department of Education’s decision to withdraw the efforts. Undersecretary of the Department of Education James Kvaal also notified a federal court of the changes on Dec. 20.
Both filings in the Federal Register described operational challenges.
“Upon further consideration of the operational challenges in implementing the proposals in the [Notice of Proposed Rulemaking], the Secretary withdraws the [notice] and terminates the rulemaking proceeding,” the Department of Education said in the filings.
Of the two initiatives withdrawn on Dec. 20, one sought to “waive all or part of any student loan debts owed to the Department based on the Secretary’s determination that a borrower has experienced or is experiencing hardship related to such a loan.”
The other would have allowed the secretary of education to waive repayment of various categories of outstanding amounts.
In announcing its withdrawal of the efforts, the department said it did not change its view that they were authorized under the secretary of education’s powers under the Higher Education Act.
The decision was made during the waning days of the Biden administration as it faces a court battle over the president’s student debt relief efforts. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of Biden’s debt relief plans in the case Biden v. Nebraska.
The administration has since made multiple attempts to provide some kind of student debt relief. A federal judge blocked part of Biden’s loan forgiveness efforts in October.
Also on Dec. 20, the administration announced it was canceling debt for 55,000 public service workers. According to the Education Department, the additional relief amounted to $4.28 billion.
“From Day One of my Administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in an announcement. “Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt.”
