Kaine Applauds New Rule to Provide Student Loan Relief to Millions of Borrowers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that would provide targeted student loan relief to millions of borrowers. The announcement comes shortly after ED shared that nearly 70,000 Virginians had their student loans forgiven under President Biden.

“Too many Americans are crushed by the weight of student debt, which hurts our overall economy. I’m glad the Administration is taking steps to provide targeted student loan relief to millions of borrowers. This will help put them on better financial footing, so they can buy a home or start a business. I will continue working to ease the burden of student debt and make sure every American who wants to pursue higher education has the opportunity to do so.”

The proposed rule includes a series of changes that would cancel runaway interest; eliminate student debt for borrowers who entered repayment at least 20 years ago; assist borrowers who are eligible for loan forgiveness under existing programs but have not successfully applied due to paperwork, bad advice, or other obstacles; and authorize ongoing relief for borrowers who took out debt to attend programs or institutions that failed to provide sufficient financial value. The proposed changes are subject to a 30-day public comment period starting on April 17.

Kaine has long supported efforts to lower student loan debt and make post-secondary education more affordable by increasing Pell Grant awards, expanding Pell Grant eligibility to job training programs, expanding access to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, providing financial counseling to students and their families on the front-end, expanding dual enrollment and early college high school programs, and making it easier to transfer from community colleges to four-year schools.  

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