In a scathing report released this week, the Government Accountability Office faulted the Education Department for sloppy oversight of its income-driven repayment program — a collection of plans that offer reduced monthly payments and carry a promise to erase all remaining debt after 20 or 25 years of payments.
The study, requested by Congress, identified 7,700 federal student loans that appear to meet the conditions for loan forgiveness but had yet to be canceled as of September 2020. The loans were held by 3,000 borrowers and amount to a combined $49 million.
It was released a day after the Education Department announced changes to fix what it called “historical failures” of the program. Those changes are expected to help some borrowers get their loans discharged more quickly.
Investigators said they couldn’t verify why the loans hadn’t been forgiven — gaps in the Education Department’s data made it impossible to know for sure. But they suggested it could be the result of poor record-keeping.
Before 2014, the report said, the department failed to make sure borrowers’ monthly payments were being tracked. That in turn has prevented the agency from tracking borrowers’ progress toward loan forgiveness, leaving some repaying loans longer than they should have.
So far, only 157 loans have been forgiven through income-driven plans, according to the study.
“The Department of Education has had trouble tracking borrowers’ payments and hasn’t done enough to ensure that all eligible borrowers receive the forgiveness to which they are entitled,” the GAO said. “We found thousands of borrowers still in repayment who could be eligible for forgiveness now.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 23, 2022-Ausgabe von Techlife News.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 23, 2022-Ausgabe von Techlife News.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
US GROWTH SLOWED SHARPLY LAST QUARTER TO 1.6% PACE.REFLECTING AN ECONOMY PRESSURED BY HIGH RATES
The nation’s economy slowed sharply last quarter to a 1.6% annual pace in the face of high-interest rates, but consumers — the main driver of economic growth — kept spending at a solid pace.
ORACLE'S LARRY ELLISON SAYS PLANNED NASHVILLE CAMPUS WILL BE COMPANY'S 'WORLD HEADQUARTERS'
Oracle Corp.’s planned campus in Nashville, Tennessee, will serve as the business software giant’s world headquarters, placing it in a city that’s a center for the U.S. healthcare industry, company Chairman Larry Ellison said.
FTC SENDS $5.6 MILLION IN REFUNDS TO RING CUSTOMERS AS PART OF VIDEO PRIVACY SETTLEMENT
The Federal Trade Commission is sending more than $5.6 million in refunds to consumers as part of a settlement with Amazon-owned Ring, which was charged with failing to protect private video footage from outside access.
AS BIDEN CELEBRATES COMPUTER CHIP FACTORIES VOTERS WAIT FOR THE PROMISED PRODUCTION TO START
President Joe Biden has a great economic story to tell voters a decade from now, less so in 2024.
US ADVANCES REVIEW OF NEVADA LITHIUM MINE AMID CONCERNS OVER ENDANGERED WILDFLOWER
The Biden administration has taken a significant step in its expedited environmental review of what could become the third lithium mine in the U.S., amid anticipated legal challenges from conservationists over the threat they say it poses to an endangered Nevada wildflower.
TENSIONS BETWEEN BEIJING AND WASHINGTON ARE THE BIGGEST WORRY FOR US COMPANIES IN CHINA.REPORT SAYS
Simmering tensions between Beijing and Washington remain the top worry for American companies operating in China, according to a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China released this week.
MICROSOFT & AMAZON FACE SCRUTINY FROM UK COMPETITION WATCHDOG OVER RECENT AI DEALS
British competition regulators said this week they’ll scrutinize recent artificial intelligence deals by Microsoft and Amazon over concerns that the moves could thwart competition in the AI industry.
OLYMPIC ORGANIZERS UNVEIL STRATEGY FOR USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN SPORTS
Olympic organizers unveiled their strategy to use artificial intelligence in sports, joining the global rush to capitalize on the rapidly advancing technology.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRAPPING YOUR CAR
Gaze around the next time you’re stuck in traffic and see if you’re not surprised, maybe even a little saddened, by the monochromatic sea around you.
TIKTOK MAY BE BANNED IN THE US. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN INDIA DID IT
The hugely popular Chinese app TikTok may be forced out of the U.S., where a measure to outlaw the video-sharing app has won congressional approval and is on its way to President Biden for his signature.