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1 1 (June 21, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govehwf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con grasslanad Research Service Informing the legislitive debate since 1914 S June 21, 2022 Student Loans: A Timeline of Actions Taken in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic Since the onset of the COVID-19 national emergency, lawmakers and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) have made available a number of waivers and flexibilities for federal student loan borrowers. For most borrowers, these flexibilities include the suspension of (1) interest accrual, (2) the requirement that borrowers make monthly payments on their loans, and (3) involuntary collections activities, as well as waivers of requirements to qualify for various student loan forgiveness or discharge benefits. While Congress authorized a subset of these flexibilities for a temporary period, ED has extended those flexibilities numerous times since their initial expiration and has effectuated other flexibilities. This In Focus provides an overview of the Higher Education Act (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) Title IV federal student loan programs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic-related flexibilities and a timeline of actions taken by lawmakers or ED authorizing, effectuating, or extending such flexibilities. HEA Stud ent Loans HEA Title IV authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the William D. Ford Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. While new loans are currently authorized to be made only through the Direct Loan program, previously made FFEL and Perkins Loans remain outstanding and borrowers remain responsible for repaying them. As of December 31, 2021, approximately $1.6 trillion in HEA Title IV loans, borrowed by or on behalf of 43.4 million individuals, remained outstanding. * Direct Loan program loans are held by ED. As of December 31, 2021, approximately $1.4 trillion in these loans, borrowed by or on behalf of 37.2 million individuals, was outstanding. * FFEL program loans may be held by private lenders, guaranty agencies (GAs), or ED. As of December 31, 2021, approximately 10.0 million borrowers owed about $225.7 billion in FFEL program loans. Of that, about $117.7 billion was held by private lenders, representing debt for about 4.5 million borrowers; $25.3 billion was held by GAs, representing debt for about 1.1 million borrowers; and about $82.7 billion was held by ED, representing debt for between 2.8 million and 5.5 million borrowers. * Perkins Loan program loans may be held by institutions of higher education (IHEs) that made the loans or by ED. As of September 23, 2021, IHEs held about $3.4 billion, representing debt for approximately 1.2 million borrowers, and ED held nearly $1.1 billion in Perkins Loans, representing debt owed by approximately 358,000 borrowers. Loan Waivers and Flexbiities The following timeline provides information on selected actions taken by lawmakers and ED to provide relief to HEA federal student loan borrowers during, and at least in part due to, the COVID-19 national emergency. The timeline focuses on flexibilities that primarily address ED- held student loans. During the COVID-19 national emergency, ED has taken a variety of other student-loan related actions that are seemingly unrelated to the COVID- 19 pandemic. Only administrative actions for which ED has explicitly referenced the COVID-19 pandemic are included in the timeline below. For an in-depth description of flexibilities and waivers available to federal student loan borrowers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, see CRS Report R46314, Federal Student Loan Debt Relief in the Context of COVID-19. 2020 * March 20, 2020: ED announced that all borrowers of ED-held loans would automatically have their interest rate set to 0% for at least 60 days; each borrower would have the option to suspend their payments for at least two months; and borrowers who were more than 31 days delinquent on their loans as of March 13, 2020 (or who became more than 31 days delinquent thereafter) would automatically have their payments suspended. * March 27, 2020: Congress and the President enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act; P.L. 116-136). The CARES Act suspended interest accrual, monthly loan payments, and involuntary collections on Direct Loan program loans and ED-held FFEL program loans through September 30, 2020. It also specified that suspended payments were to count toward the 120 monthly payments required under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, toward the 20- or 25-year repayment periods under the income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, and toward the nine voluntary payments required for individuals to rehabilitate their defaulted loans. Soon thereafter, ED specified that these policies would apply to ED-held Perkins Loans. * August 21, 2020: ED announced, in accordance with a Presidential Memorandum dated August 8, 2020, an extension of the interest, payment, and collections suspensions through December 31, 2020.

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