FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 30, 2021

CONTACT: Alexis Goldstein at alexis@ourfinancialsecurity.org

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Department of Education announced it will be moving to protect more than one million borrowers with commercial Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) in default. However, over 5 million commercial FFEL borrowers whose loans aren’t in default continue to need action from the Department. Borrowers with commercial FFEL are among the 8 million left out of the federal student loan suspension. While the majority of federal student loan borrowers’ payments are on pause, the typical commercial FFEL borrower will likely have made $5,700 in federal student loan payments during the pause (if it ends in September as currently scheduled to). 

The following is a statement of Alexis Goldstein, Senior Policy Analyst at Americans for Financial Reform:

While it’s encouraging to see the Department act to protect over one million defaulted borrowers from seized tax refunds and wage garnishment, they must not leave behind the 5.5 million commercial FFEL borrowers who aren’t in default. An estimated 9 million borrowers total have been left out of the federal student loan suspension through no fault of their own. There is bipartisan support for ensuring no federal student loan borrowers areunfairly left behind; the Department must use its authority to protect all federal student loan borrowers.