The U.S. Department of Education will return to student loan relief negotiations addressing the needs of borrowers with financial hardship. The Department scheduled a fourth negotiation session as a result of the efforts made by NYLAG Supervising Attorney Jessica Ranucci and her colleagues on the DOE’s loan relief negotiating committee. Read the letter here, and an excerpt from the coverage in USA TODAY below:
“The Education Department has agreed to extend its student loan relief talks after mounting pressure in recent weeks, according to an agency official and an email sent to federal negotiators.
“The Education Department confirmed the news after USA TODAY reported it on Wednesday.
“The decision is not unheard of in Washington. But reconvening was not the original plan. Word of another round of talks follows weeks of advocates, progressive lawmakers and members of the department’s own loan relief committee urging the Education Department to return to the table after negotiations ended bitterly in December.
“James Kvaal, the undersecretary of education, said in a statement following USA TODAY’s report that the department looks forward to the conversations, which are set for mid-February…
“Jessica Ranucci, an attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group who serves on the committee, said she’s eager to get back to the table.
“’Borrowers facing financial hardship need debt relief just to have the opportunity to get by,’ she said in a statement to USA TODAY.
“Specifically, advocates are hoping to delve deeper into the types of hardship the federal government should consider when canceling borrowers’ student loan debt.”
Read the full piece by Zachary Schermele in USA TODAY from January 31, 2024.
