AFT Pushes Back on Slow Loan Repayment Processing

"The Department of Education has accumulated a backlog of more than 800,000 applications for income-driven loan repayments (IDR) as of Dec. 15, according to the most recent status report in a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The union originally sued the department in March for pausing all applications to IDR plans, loan consolidation and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, but the case was quickly settled as the department reopened the application portal and committed to providing regular status updates."

"In October, the department again reached a settlement with the plaintiffs, committing to process applications, and the motion was stayed. But now, with the latest status report released, AFT argues that the department isn't holding up its end of the deal. "The problem is they don't appear to have kept their word," Randi Weingarten said in a news release Wednesday. "The borrower backlog remains eye-popping, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon clearly has no idea how to manage this process.""

"In addition to the backlog of pending loan repayment applications, the report shows that only 170 borrowers at the end of their IDR plan and 280 borrowers who have completed their PSLF payments have received their rightful loan forgiveness. Weingarten suggested that in addition to loan forgiveness being low on the Trump administration's list of political priorities, much of the backlog is due to major staffing cuts."

A backlog of more than 800,000 income-driven repayment (IDR) applications remained at the Department of Education as of Dec. 15. The American Federation of Teachers sued after a March pause on applications, consolidations and Public Service Loan Forgiveness actions; the application portal later reopened and the department agreed to provide status reports. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint in September alleging thousands of unprocessed applications. An October settlement required processing commitments. The latest status report shows only 170 borrowers at IDR completion and 280 PSLF completers have received loan forgiveness. The backlog is blamed in part on staffing cuts and low administrative priority.

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