2023-11-16 22:49:56
More people with federal student loans have been able to eliminate their debt in bankruptcy court due to a Biden administration policy change announced last November. In the first 10 months of the new policy, student loan borrowers filed more than 630 bankruptcies, a “significant increase” compared to recent years, the government said.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the student loan forgiveness program on October 17, 2022.
Leah Millis | Reuters
More people with federal student loans have been able to eliminate their debt in bankruptcy court due to a Biden administration policy change announced last November.
In fall 2022, the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice issued Updated bankruptcy guidelines Make it easier for distressed borrowers to discharge their student loans in court. Previously, it was difficult, if not impossible, for people to discharge their educational debt in ordinary bankruptcy proceedings.
“I am pleased that our one-year review indicates that our efforts have made a real difference to the lives of borrowers,” he said. Deputy Public Prosecutor Vanita Guptain a statement on Thursday.
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In the first 10 months of the new policy, student loan borrowers filed more than 630 bankruptcies, a “significant increase” over recent years, the departments said.
“The vast majority of borrowers seeking relief from their debts received full or partial relief,” they said.
Outstanding student debt in the United States exceeds $1.7 trillion, and about 7% of student loan borrowers have a balance of more than $100,000. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 10 million borrowers were in default or defaulted.
Student loans have long been treated differently from other types of debt in bankruptcy courts, drawing criticism from legal experts and consumer advocates.
In 2018, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he “could not explain” why student loans could not be repaid in bankruptcy. Powell also warned that higher debt could slow economic growth over time.
The difficulty of repaying student loans in bankruptcy dates back to the 1970s, when lawmakers Added condition Student loan borrowers must wait at least five years after repayment begins to file for bankruptcy. The move was in response to concerns raised by policymakers and critics that students would accumulate a pile of loans and then try to get rid of them after graduating.
Mark Kantrowitz, a higher education expert, said these concerns are greatly overblown.
“Only borrowers with serious financial difficulties would seek to have their debts discharged,” Kantrowitz said. “A bankruptcy discharge destroys your credit score for seven years, preventing you from getting credit cards, car loans, and mortgages.”
However, in 1990, Waiting period He has been seven years old. The rules changed again nearly a decade later, requiring people with federal or private student loans to prove that their debts constitute “Excessive difficulty“To do so, but Congress never clarified what the term meant, and lawyers and attorneys complained that the uncertainty led to injustice in the courts.
“The new policy represents a softening of the tough stance on federal student loan repayment,” Kantrowitz said. He added that courts are now moving in the direction of “treating student loans like any other debt.”
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