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1 1 (August 25, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/goveipl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congre &oa FResedrch Ser/ce hnorming Ahej lgs ive debate s 'ne 1914 Updated August 25, 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 various types of relief for federal student loan borrowers. For most borrowers, these 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 and the creation of a new broad-based loan cancellation policy. While Congress authorized a subset of these changes for a temporary period, ED has extended some of them numerous times since their initial expiration and has effectuated others. 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 relief and a timeline of actions taken by lawmakers or ED authorizing, effectuating, or extending such relief. HEA Student Loans HEA Title IV authorizes the operation of three federal student loan programs: the Direct Loan program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. 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. Approximately $1.6 trillion in HEA Title IV loans, owed by about 45 million borrowers is outstanding. * Direct Loan program loans are held by ED. As of March 31, 2022, about $1.4 trillion in these loans, borrowed by or on behalf of 37.1 million individuals, was outstanding. * FFEL program loans may be held by private lenders, guaranty agencies (GAs), or ED. As of March 31, 2022, about $113.6 billion in these loans was held by private lenders, representing debt for about 4.3 million borrowers; $25.3 billion was held by GAs, representing debt for about 1.1 million borrowers; and about $80 billion was held by ED, representing debt for between 2.7 million and 5.3 million borrowers. * Perkins Loan program loans may be held by institutions of higher education (IHEs) or ED. As of September 23, 2021, IHEs held about $3.4 billion, representing debt for about 1.2 million borrowers, and ED held nearly $1.1 billion, representing debt owed by about 358,000 borrowers. Loan Relief The following timeline provides information on selected actions taken by lawmakers and ED to provide relief to federal student loan borrowers during, and at least in part due to, the COVID-19 national emergency. The timeline focuses on relief that primarily addresses ED-held student loans. During the COVID-19 national emergency, ED has taken 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 relief 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. * December 4, 2020: ED announced an extension of the interest, payment, and collections suspensions through January 31, 2021.

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