The Supreme Court ruled against President Joe Biden’s one-time student debt forgiveness plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for more than 40 million borrowers.
The news has distraught borrowers across the country who have benefited from the Covid-era debt payment pause for the past three years.
Among the most upset about the Supreme Court’s decision are the nearly 20 million people, according to the Biden administration, like Joy Morales-Bartlett who stood to have their debts fully canceled.
“It’s disheartening,” said Morales-Bartlett. “We’ve done the right things this whole time, and we are being punished for it.”
With a remaining balance of $19,000, the 47-year-old former teacher was looking forward to seeing her decadeslong journey toward repaying $89,000 in student loan debt finally come to an end.
The payment pause made the public “come on board to the concept of debt cancellation,” Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center, said, “because people got to see what their lives would be like without student debt.”
While Biden’s debt forgiveness plan was not designed to fully wipe out all student loans, millions of borrowers hoped it would ease some of the financial burden they will face in October, when the Covid-era debt payment pause is set to end.
Paul Berlet, who graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania last year with a degree in secondary English education, is now a sixth grade English teacher in Delaware. During his time in school, Berlet accumulated about $20,000 in federal student loans.
“You should not need to be in debt to be able to start your life,” Berlet said. “That is not a good way to start your adult life.”
Following multiple student debt payment pause extensions since 2020, Congress recently passed a law preventing further extensions. The payment pause allowed people to focus on other basic needs such as child care, health care, rent costs or, for some, the accumulation of…
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