"Jeffery Epstein: Trump Confidante" <trumptardss@gmail.com> wrote in
news:su3qfb$1649m$33@news.freedyn.de:

> Lee wrote
>
>> Hillary Clinton needs her pussy kicked up between her ears.

The White House is facing backlash about its decision to reactivate
interest for student loans as part of its �on-ramp� repayment program,
which progressives and advocates argue isn�t enough to help struggling
borrowers.

The program aims to help those who can�t repay their loans when payments
resume this fall by removing the threat of default or harm to credit
ratings for 12 months if bills aren�t paid. It�s one of the only routes
the Biden administration argues it could have taken since ending the
payment pause that ultimately became part of the debt limit deal President
Biden struck with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

The so-called �Plan B� for providing student loan relief was laid out late
last week hours after the Supreme Court struck down a program the White
House attempted to implement that would have forgiven up to $20,000 in
student loans dependent upon earnings. The alternative route aims to help
borrowers make their journey to repayments easier.

But the president�s plan has failed to satisfy stakeholders and some
Democratic lawmakers who are panning a plan that would turn interest on
for certain student loans for the first time since March 2020.

�There is already so much confusion,� Natalia Abrams at Student Debt
Crisis Center (SDCC) said.

Borrowers are set to start repaying their student loans in October after
interest begins accruing again in September. The president said that the
on-ramp program would at least help alleviate some pressure on borrowers
by not having their debt sent to collectors or credit scores impacted from
October 2023 to September 2024.

The White House believes it has come up with the best option they could
give borrowers, considering the debt agreement, which was signed into law
in June.

�The law requires us to end the payment pause this summer. We believe in
the rule of law, and plan to follow it,� a White House official told The
Hill.

The official added that the on-ramp program aims �to protect the most
vulnerable borrowers� and is �the most generous income-driven repayment
plan ever.�

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But the White House explanation has not been enough for advocates and even
some Democrats.

�People should not be incurring interest during this 12-month on-ramp
period. So, I highly urge the administration to consider suspending those
interest payments,� Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said.

Some note that ending the pause and restarting interest is part of the
deal negotiated with McCarthy.

�The student loan pause suspended both monthly payments and interest for
many borrowers since March of 2020. The debt ceiling deal negotiated by
the White House spells an end to the pause,� said Debra Dixon, who served
as chief of staff at the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy
Development at the Education Department under former President Obama.

She said the latest program softens the impact for borrowers who haven�t
made a payment or accrued interest in the past three years, noting that
was the best option the administration had after its first attempt was
struck down.

�This softens the monthly payment part of the pause. If interest were also
to be suspended during the grace period, then both elements of the pause
would be back in place as if an end had never been negotiated. Softening
the adjustment for borrowers as payments resume is the best the
administration could do,� said Dixon, a principal at Ferox Strategies.

White House officials Friday made sure to stress that the on-ramp action
is not an additional pause extension, as the Biden administration had been
criticized by Republicans for continuing to extend the repayment pause
until he struck the deal limit deal this spring.

But, Republicans are still criticizing the administration, despite the
fact that interest is starting back up.

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.)
and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member
Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said the pause on consequences for missing payments
is a �a violation of the debt ceiling agreement.�

But, student loan advocates argue Biden is able to extend a pause and not
violate the deal with McCarthy because they say the deal was specific to
the president extending the pause under the Higher Education Relief
Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act.

�The agreement was that while it codified ending the payment pause, it
didn�t give the president explicit directions as far as who to collect the
debt from and how much he collected and so there is some room there for
the president to shape the restarting of payments,� Cody Hounanian,
executive director at the SDCC, said.

The administration also saw pushback on its new student debt relief plan,
which uses the Higher Education Act as opposed to the HEROES Act to try to
forgive loans.

The process will take months to complete as the proposal needs to go
through a �negotiated rulemaking� process, so details about how much
borrowers could receive or who will qualify will not be available for some
time.

Democrats have been quiet regarding concerns with the new debt relief
plan, but student loan advocates have not.

Hounanian said advocates are concerned about the amount of time it will
take for the program to be implemented while, he argued, the president had
other options at his disposal.

�According to some of the legal experts we work with, [Biden] has the
option to do a preliminary rule that would allow them to start canceling
the debt for folks who had their applications approved while they create a
final rule through this process,� Hounanian said.

�There are actually several options available to the administration
including allowing for a much faster rollout. It is not a binary option,�
he added.

https://thehill.com/homenews/4082398-student-debt-white-house-faces-
backlash-for-restarting-interest-on-loans/