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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

More Student-Loan Forgiveness Urged as Repayments Set to Resume

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Monday, December 13, 2021   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - As more than 200 organizations call on the Biden administration to extend the pause on student-loan repayments, some borrowers are finding success through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

The Biden administration's approach to student-loan relief so far has been on improving or expanding a handful of programs that already were on the books, even as advocates press for the campaign promise of canceling $10,000 in student debt per person.

Susan Garcia is a professor of the New World School of the Arts at Miami Dade College, who said she was able to see her loans forgiven in the modified program for educators, nurses and public employees who give 10 years of service.

"It is $92,000 of payments that are being forgiven, that have been forgiven," said Garcia. "And for me that is, like, incredible because I'm, like, 58 years old, headed toward retirement, I have a 17-year-old son who is looking to go to college and trying to figure out how he's going to do that."

Garcia is encouraging others to take advantage of the now-streamlined program which, according to the education department, already has forgiven $2 billion dollars in debt. The pandemic moratorium on federal student loans is set to expire after January 31.

Garcia said the student-debt crisis is real. She credited organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers for pushing for reforms to make it possible for her loans to be forgiven, which started out at around $120,000.

"Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I didn't make payments," said Garcia. "I paid over $148,000, mostly interest only since I separated from school."

One major change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program allows all payments by student borrowers to count, regardless of loan program or payment plan. That waiver runs through October of next near.

However, a survey by the Student Debt Crisis Center found that 89% of fully employed student loan borrowers said they were not financially secure enough to resume loan payments on February first.




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