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1 1 (June 23, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govembe0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Inf ormnin Updated June 23, 2023 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 Department of Education (ED) have provided 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 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 three federal student loan programs: the Direct Loan program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, and the Federal Perkins Loan program. Currently, new loans are only authorized to be made through the Direct Loan program. Previously made FFEL and Perkins Loans remain outstanding, and borrowers remain responsible for repaying them. About $1.6 trillion in Title IV loans, owed by about 45 million borrowers is outstanding. * Direct Loan program loans are held by ED. As of March 31, 2023, about $1.5 trillion in these loans, borrowed by or on behalf of 38.3 million individuals, was outstanding. * FFEL program loans are held by private lenders, guaranty agencies (GAs), or ED. As of March 1, 2023, about $90.4 billion in these loans was held by private lenders, representing debt for about 3.4 million borrowers; $25.0 billion was held by GAs, representing debt for about 1.1 million borrowers; and about $79.4 billion was held by ED, representing debt for between 2.5 million and 5.1 million borrowers. * Perkins Loan program loans may be held by institutions of higher education (IHEs) or ED. As of September 15, 2022, IHEs held about $2.6 billion, representing debt for about 910,000 borrowers, and ED held nearly $1.4 billion, representing debt owed by about 439,000 borrowers. Loan Relief The following timeline provides information on selected actions taken by lawmakers and ED to address issues faced by federal student loan borrowers due to, at least in part, the COVID-19 national emergency. The timeline focuses on relief that primarily addresses ED-held student loans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ED has taken other student-loan related actions that are seemingly unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only administrative actions for which ED explicitly referenced the COVID-19 pandemic are included in the timeline. For an in-depth description of flexibilities 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 it would set the interest rate on all ED-held loans to 0% for at least 60 days, give borrowers of these loans the option to suspend their payments for at least two months, and automatically suspend payments on such loans that were more than 31 days delinquent as of March 13, 2020 (or that became more than 31 days delinquent thereafter). 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 specified that suspended payments were to count toward the 120 monthly payments required under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, the 20- or 25-year repayment periods under the income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, and 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. Weson I Resedrch Service th er leas ive dibat sin'e 1914 0

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