FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25th, 2024
Natalia Abrams, Student Debt Crisis Center
(646) 820-8037
SDCC Calls on the Administration to Pause Payments Amid Chaos Caused by Halting of the SAVE Plan
June 25, 2024 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, federal judges in Kansas and Missouri issued injunctions that block key parts of the new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan. This plan, available since August 2023, has already reduced monthly payments for millions and completely canceled the debts of hundreds of thousands of borrowers.
In Kansas, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction halting the U.S. Department of Education’s ability to cut student loan payments in half for millions of borrowers starting July 1st. Similarly, in Missouri, another judge issued an injunction stopping the Department from canceling debts under the new plan. These decisions leave millions of borrowers uncertain about their financial future as the student loan system attempts to restart after a three and a half-year pause on payments, interest, and debt collection that ended in September.
“Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri have created major obstacles within the student loan system, leaving millions of borrowers in a state of confusion,” said Natalia Abrams, President & Founder of SDCC. “Secretary Cardona and the Biden Administration must take immediate and certain action to protect borrowers by pausing payments immediately. Once again, borrowers are left with uncertainty with absurd monthly payments, continuously changing rules and deadlines which creates an overall fear of what the courts will do next. To be blunt, this creates utter chaos in the student loan system and it must be halted with payments paused for borrowers until SAVE is fully restored.”
“From constantly shifting deadlines to continued servicer mismanagement to programs being struck down by unelected judges, borrowers already struggle to navigate a complicated and always-changing federal student loan landscape,” said Spencer Dixon, Senior Policy Advisor with SDCC. “Yesterday, radical states attorneys general succeeded in adding further chaos and confusion to the mix by halting major tenants of the Biden-Harris Administration's SAVE plan. Millions of borrowers made the decision to enroll in the plan based on the full benefits it was to provide. With those benefits now in question, the Administration must pause payments until they are reinstated.”
Since payments resumed last October, families have had to restructure their lives around student loan payments resuming, adding more financial strain to the inflation that they’re already experiencing on a daily basis. SDCC has previously conducted extensive research on the impact of the student debt crisis on everyday Americans, and holds firm to its mission to cancel student debt and end this crisis once and for all. From housing costs to medical care to groceries, borrowers have been increasingly unable to afford basic needs for decades due to high student loan payments and unforgiving repayment plans. The SAVE Plan was intended to be a lifeline for millions of borrowers. Until the SAVE Plan is fully restored, student loan payments must be paused.
Current SAVE Plan Impact:
“Originally, my student debt greatly impacted my family budget. I could not pay the exuberant payments. When my husband's income was included, the payments were more than my mortgage. Now with the SAVE program and the end of spousal income, my payments are so much more manageable and it doesn't affect our budget. I can totally fit it in.”
– Crista, Arizona (March 2024)
“I was able to join the SAVE program. This program decreased my payments from $630 to $98 per month. It created affordable payments now that I’m retired. I’m still concerned about the future and I hope that nothing drastic happens.”
– Guillermo, Nevada (March 2024)
Further Information:
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Student Debt Crisis Center is a nationwide advocacy group with over 2,000,000 supporters calling for fundamental reforms to student loan policies.