Judge allows student loan forgiveness to proceed

First, though, student loan debt forgiveness may be back in play for millions of borrowers. Earlier today, a Republican federal judge ruled the Biden administration can move forward with a student loan forgiveness program. Thank you for joining us tonight. I'm Matt Austin. And I'm Lisa Bell. You're watching News 6 at 5. The sweeping program is poised to help tens of millions of Americans. News 6's Laverne McGee looks at who is impacted. This ruling today, I look forward to reading the details of it. We were with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona when he got the news that the Biden administration can move forward with student loan forgiveness. Secretary Cardona started his day in Kissimmee. Visiting the 2024 National Blue Ribbon School, Neo City Academy, he's the main advisor to President Joe Biden on education policies and programs. The sweeping student loan forgiveness program is poised to help tens of millions of Americans. Seven Republican states, including Florida, filed a lawsuit claiming his department's new debt cancellation effort is illegal. However, a Republican-appointed judge ruled President Biden could move forward with the plan. I asked Secretary Cardona about a long-term solution. This is still a temporary fix because it is a judge's ruling. Is there a plan moving forward? Well, again, I have to read the details of what was announced today, but I will tell you, everyone that talks about debt realizes that interest has gotten out of control. There's runaway interest that we're trying to tackle. People that have paid their loans for over 20 years and still owe more than they borrowed, that's almost a crime. You know, people take out loans to go to college so they could have income to help their families. They shouldn't be required to pay more 20 years later than what they took out. Four groups of borrowers are expected to be affected. Those who owe more than they originally took out. People who've been in a repayment plan for decades. Students from schools with low financial value. And those who qualify for loan forgiveness under an existing program but have not yet applied. Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost was also making stops around Central Florida with Secretary Cardona when the news was announced. I asked him what's being done locally to help college students with debt. I actually have one of the first satellite offices in the country on a college campus. We have a satellite office at UCF. And one of the top three issues that students come to us that need help with, they need help with the student loan forgiveness program. The judge has directed the case to be transferred to Missouri since the states claim Biden's plan would most harm the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority. Laverne McGee, Getting Results, News 6. Laverne, thank you. And we want to get your opinion on the student loan debt issue. You can take out your phone right now and scan the QR code on your screen. It will take you to clickorlando.com slash react, where you can weigh in. So our question, do you think the government should pay off student loans? You can answer either yes, no, or it depends. Right now, most people say no. And student loans, they are expected to have a big impact on the polls, possibly. A recent survey found more than one in five student loan borrowers feel student loan forgiveness is one of the most important issues when choosing a presidential candidate. Now, neither Vice President Harris nor former President Trump have made statements on their plans for student loans on the campaign trail. For all the latest on the presidential election and all the local elections in your community, head to clickorlando.com slash results 2024.