DJT Blocks Income-Driven Student Loan Repayment Programs

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American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump’s regime for blocking access to affordable student loan repayment plans and forgiveness programs that are authorized by federal law, with the blockages causing monthly repayment amounts to skyrocket.

Millions of student loan borrowers have been in limbo for months because of a legal challenge to the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan created during President Biden’s term in office. SAVE was ultimately blocked by a court, but other programs to keep student loan payments affordable are still legally in effect.

Last month, Trump’s regime removed income recertification forms from the Department of Education website. Access to Income-Based Repayment was blocked, and so was pursuit of Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The Department of Education is required by law to offer borrower income-driven repayment plans and PSLF, and are not being challenged in court.

Without the ability to file their mandatory income recertifications and with access to affordability programs blocked, borrowers are being hit with large increases in monthly payments, such as the quadrupled monthly bill that hit an attorney in Austin, Texas, without notice or explanation.

Before this year, people holding federal student loans could access four income-driven repayment plans:

  • Income-Contingent Repayment plan, authorized by Congress in 1993, which links repayment to a borrower’s income
  • Pay As You Earn
  • REvised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), which became the SAVE plan under former President Joe Biden
  • Income-Based Repayment, created by Congress in 2007

Each income-driven plan uses formulas centered on a borrower’s income. Any remaining balance is forgiven after a fixed repayment term of 20 or 25 years.

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