Americans can now submit applications to Biden’s $400 BILLION student loan forgiveness program

The Biden administration announced late Friday that it will begin testing its student loan debt relief website.

According to CNNthe White House said the website for the $400 billion program would launch tonight and remain in a beta testing phase until later this month, when the site formally launches.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education told the outlet: “Tonight the Ministry of Education will begin beta testing of the student debt relief website.

“During the beta testing period, borrowers can apply for the Biden-Harris Administration’s student debt relief program.”

In August, the president announced he had decided to cancel $10,000 in student loans for those making less than $125,000 a year, or even $20,000 for individuals in the same income bracket who were also Pell Grant recipients.

However, the pursuit may be held up in court as it is currently being challenged by a number of lawsuits. A U.S. district judge may soon make a decision on whether to temporarily block the program.

But for now the live website is live and accept applications.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Friday that a beta mode website for the student loan forgiveness program will go live and eligible individuals can begin submitting their loan forgiveness information.

Images of the beta mode website where users are asked for personal identification and contact information before the loan is waived

The DOE’s technical team will observe how the site is performing and place temporary interruptions in service to resolve the outages

Individuals can begin submitting information for student grants, but applications will not be processed until the site is officially launched on a date to be announced later this month.

Once the site is launched, the White House will use its social channels to promote its services. There is also a plan to brief different types of influencers on the site and how it works in the coming weeks.

Most eligible people are expected to receive debt relief within weeks of filing.

Borrowers do not have to reapply if they submit their application during beta testing,” the spokesperson said.

This testing period will allow the department to monitor the site’s performance through real-world use, test the site prior to the official launch of the application, fine-tune processes, and discover potential bugs prior to the official launch. launch.’

To qualify, borrowers must have federal student loans. Federal PLUS loans borrowed by graduate school students and parents to pay for school are also eligible for forgiveness if the borrower falls within the income requirements.

Individuals who earned less than $125,000 in 2020 or 2021, or heads of households who earned less than $250,000, are eligible for up to $10,000 in federal student loan waivers.

Borrowers have until December 31, 2023 to apply for an exemption.

President Joe Biden has touted his plan to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief for student loans. The plan now faces a few lawsuits, and a new congressional cost estimate puts the tab at $400 billion over three decades

The administration faces a number of lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of the controversial program, which Republicans argue, among other things, will further widen the rising US deficit.

Government officials said the current goal of the program is to get a significant portion of debt relief processed before January, when student loan payments will begin following a multi-year freeze that began with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standing in the way of potential loan waivers are the various lawsuits facing the Department of Education that challenge the policy.

A U.S. district judge may soon decide whether the program will be temporarily suspended. A request for a preliminary injunction was heard on Wednesday.

A hold can put the loan cancellation on hold until the judge makes a final decision on the case.

As the site is in beta testing phase, the Department of Education’s technical team will observe how the site is performing and schedule operational breaks while the team works out what changes need to be made.

A government official told CNN they expect “high spikes in demand.”

Users of the site get information about debt relief, how it works and who qualifies. The site will also ask users for information, including names, social security numbers, dates of birth, and contact information.

In addition to arguing that the contingency plan is unconstitutional, Republicans have seized on its huge price tag and its impact on the country’s budget deficit.

The impartial Congressional Budget Office said several weeks ago that the program will cost about $400 billion over the next three decades.

The White House responded by saying that the CBO’s estimate of how much the plan will cost in its first year alone — $21 billion — is lower than what the administration had initially forecast.