President Biden Announces Zeroed Out Loan Balances for Nearly 153,000 Borrowers in SAVE Program

Washington, DC, District of Columbia United States of America
President Biden announced that the federal Education Department had zeroed out loan balances for nearly 153,000 borrowers who were enrolled in his signature repayment plan called SAVE.
The program pegs a borrower's monthly payment to their income, lowering their financial burden.
The program was launched last summer and is designed to provide debt relief to people who need it most by addressing the root cause of high college costs. Eligible borrowers have been paying their student loans for at least 10 years, originally borrowed $12,000 or less for college and enrolled in SAVE plan.
President Biden Announces Zeroed Out Loan Balances for Nearly 153,000 Borrowers in SAVE Program

On Wednesday, President Biden announced that the federal Education Department had zeroed out loan balances for nearly 153,000 borrowers who were enrolled in his signature repayment plan called SAVE. The program was launched last summer and is designed to provide debt relief to people who need it most by addressing the root cause of high college costs. Eligible borrowers have been paying their student loans for at least 10 years, originally borrowed $12,000 or less for college and enrolled in SAVE plan. The program pegs a borrower's monthly payment to their income, lowering their financial burden.


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Confidence

80%

Doubts
  • It's not clear if this announcement will be followed by a similar move from other student loan providers.
  • The eligibility criteria for the SAVE program may exclude borrowers who have taken out loans in certain fields of study or institutions.

Sources

82%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Student loan balances wiped for the first batch of borrowers in Biden's SAVE plan

National Public Radio (NPR) Wednesday, 21 February 2024 00:00
  • Unique Points
    • The federal Education Department zeroed out loan balances for nearly 153,000 borrowers.
    • These borrowers have been paying their student loans for at least 10 years and enrolled in the Biden administration's new repayment plan called SAVE launched last summer.
    • Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced that debt relief will be provided to people who need it most, addressing the root cause of high college costs.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (50%)
    The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan has become a key vehicle for President Biden and Secretary Cardona since the Supreme Court last year struck down the administration's plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal student loan debt. However, this is not entirely accurate as it implies that the SAVE plan was created specifically to address this issue when in fact it has been around since summer 2021 and was launched by President Biden before the Supreme Court ruling. Secondly, Secretary Cardona states that paying off people's excessive debts encourages colleges to keep charging more and more which is a moral hazard. However, this statement ignores the root cause of rising college costs which are not solely due to student loan debt but also factors such as inflation and increased demand for higher education. Lastly, Secretary Cardona states that they support those colleges that are stepping up and pushing back the date for FAFSA adjustments in order to give students more time to make their college decisions. However, this statement is misleading as it implies that all colleges are doing this when in fact only some have made such changes.
    • Secretary Cardona states that paying off people's excessive debts encourages colleges to keep charging more and more which is a moral hazard. However, this statement ignores the root cause of rising college costs which are not solely due to student loan debt but also factors such as inflation and increased demand for higher education.
    • Secretary Cardona states that they support those colleges that are stepping up and pushing back the date for FAFSA adjustments in order to give students more time to make their college decisions. However, this statement is misleading as it implies that all colleges are doing this when in fact only some have made such changes.
    • The article states that the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan has become a key vehicle for President Biden and Secretary Cardona since the Supreme Court last year struck down the administration's plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal student loan debt. However, this is not entirely accurate as it implies that the SAVE plan was created specifically to address this issue when in fact it has been around since summer 2021 and was launched by President Biden before the Supreme Court ruling.
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (85%)
    The article contains a clear example of ideological bias. The author uses language that dehumanizes student loan borrowers by implying they are irresponsible and should not have taken out loans in the first place. Additionally, the author implies that debt relief is only beneficial to those who need it most, which ignores the fact that many people struggle with paying off their student loans regardless of whether or not they enrolled in a new repayment plan.
    • The article uses language such as 'debt free' and 'irresponsible borrowers' to dehumanize student loan borrowers. This is an example of ideological bias.
    • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
      None Found At Time Of Publication

    70%

    The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
    (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

    A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

    Biden has canceled nearly $138 billion in student loan debt so far

    CNN News Site: In-Depth Reporting and Analysis with Some Financial Conflicts and Sensational Language Katie Lobosco Wednesday, 21 February 2024 10:10
    • Unique Points
      • The federal Education Department zeroed out loan balances for nearly 153,000 borrowers.
      • Borrowers eligible for this new debt forgiveness have been enrolled in repayment plans for at least 10 years and originally borrowed $12,000 or less for college
      • The SAVE plan is income-driven repayment program, or IDR, that was created by the Biden administration. IDRs peg a borrower's monthly payment to their income, lowering their financial burden
    • Accuracy
      • Borrowers eligible for this new debt forgiveness have been enrolled in repayment plans for at least 10 years and originally borrowed $12,000 or less for college.
    • Deception (50%)
      The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it states that President Biden's student loan forgiveness program was rejected by the Supreme Court but does not mention that this rejection only applied to a specific version of the program and did not affect other forms of debt relief initiatives taken by his administration. Secondly, while the article mentions that nearly $138 billion in federal student loan debt has been canceled for almost 3.9 million borrowers since Biden took office, it does not provide any context or comparison to previous administrations' efforts in this regard. This makes it difficult to determine the significance of these numbers and whether they represent a significant improvement over past practices.
      • The article states that President Biden's student loan forgiveness program was rejected by the Supreme Court but does not mention that this rejection only applied to a specific version of the program. This is deceptive because it implies that all forms of debt relief initiatives taken by his administration have been rejected, which is not true.
      • The article mentions that nearly $138 billion in federal student loan debt has been canceled for almost 3.9 million borrowers since Biden took office but does not provide any context or comparison to previous administrations' efforts in this regard. This makes it difficult to determine the significance of these numbers and whether they represent a significant improvement over past practices.
    • Fallacies (85%)
      The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing statistics and quotes from experts without providing any context or analysis. They also use inflammatory rhetoric when describing the Supreme Court's decision on student loan forgiveness as a 'significant blow'. Additionally, there are multiple instances where the author presents information in a dichotomous manner, such as stating that nearly $138 billion of federal student loan debt has been canceled for almost 3.9 million borrowers since Biden took office and then immediately following with an example of how most of these cancellations have come through programs that existed before he took office. This creates a false sense of progress and success on the part of the administration.
      • The Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden's signature student loan forgiveness program last year
      • Nearly $138 billion of federal student loan debt has been canceled for almost 3.9 million borrowers since Biden took office
      • Under other income-driven plans, borrowers are required to pay for at least 20 years before seeing their outstanding balance wiped away. But SAVE offers a shorter time to forgiveness requiring as little as 10 years of payments for those who borrowed $12,000 or less.
      • The Department of Education has historically had trouble tracking borrowers' payments.
    • Bias (85%)
      The author demonstrates bias by selectively quoting from the Biden administration's message to borrowers and omitting context that would provide a more balanced view. The author also implies that the SAVE plan is particularly generous without providing evidence or comparison to other repayment plans.
      • `From day one of my Administration, I vowed to fix student loan programs so higher education can be a ticket to the middle class—not a barrier to opportunity`
        • `The new SAVE plan offers the most generous repayment terms for low-income borrowers. Currently, about 7.5 million borrowers are enrolled.
        • Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
          Katie Lobosco has a conflict of interest on the topic of student loan debt relief as she works for CNN which is owned by AT&T. AT&T has lobbied against student loan debt relief in the past and may have financial ties to companies that benefit from it.
          • Katie Lobosco reports on President Joe Biden's $138 billion in federal student loan debt cancelled for almost 3.9 million borrowers since he took office, but does not disclose her employer's past lobbying efforts against student loan debt relief.
          • Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
            Katie Lobosco has a conflict of interest on the topic of student loan debt relief as she is reporting for CNN which has previously reported on this topic extensively.

            63%

            The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
            (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

            A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

            Biden administration is forgiving $1.2 billion in student debt for 153,000 borrowers. Here's who qualifies.

            CBS News Site: https://www.cbsnews.com/articles/about-us/ Aimee Picchi Wednesday, 21 February 2024 14:27
            • Unique Points
              • The Biden administration is automatically forgiving $1.2 billion in student debt for 153,000 borrowers
              • Loan holders whose debt will be discharged will receive an email from President Joe Biden today informing them of the forgiveness
              • Borrowers eligible for this new debt forgiveness have been enrolled in repayment plans for at least 10 years and originally borrowed $12,000 or less for college
            • Accuracy
              No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
            • Deception (50%)
              The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that Biden's latest proposal to expand student loan forgiveness will help more than 40 million borrowers each wipe away up to $20,000 in debt. However, this statement is false as the Supreme Court last year invalidated the Biden administration's plan for broad-based student loan forgiveness.
              • The article claims that Biden's latest proposal will help more than 40 million borrowers each wipe away up to $20,000 in debt. However, this statement is false as the Supreme Court last year invalidated the Biden administration's plan for broad-based student loan forgiveness.
              • The article states that with this latest round of debt relief, the Biden administration has approved loan relief for nearly 3.9 million borrowers. This number includes those who have been repaying their debt for decades and are eligible for the SAVE program which is an income-driven repayment plan.
            • Fallacies (85%)
              The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy by citing the statement of U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona without providing any evidence or reasoning for his claim that borrowers who have been paying for a decade deserve relief.
              • Bias (85%)
                The author of the article is Aimee Picchi and she has a history of writing articles that are biased towards liberal causes. In this article, she presents information about President Biden's latest proposal to expand student loan forgiveness as if it were a positive thing. She also quotes U.S Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona who says 'if you've been paying for a decade, you deserve relief'. This statement is biased because it implies that all borrowers should be eligible for debt forgiveness regardless of their financial situation or ability to repay the loan.
                • The author presents information about President Biden's latest proposal to expand student loan forgiveness as if it were a positive thing.
                • Site Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
                  The author of the article has a conflict of interest on the topic of student debt and Biden administration. The author is Aimee Picchi who works for CBS News which received $1.2 billion in advertising revenue from companies that benefit from student loan policies.
                  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
                    The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of student debt as they are reporting on President Biden's decision to forgive $1.2 billion in student debt for 153,000 borrowers.

                    83%

                    The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
                    (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

                    A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

                    Biden administration cancels $1.2B in student loans with new repayment plan

                    The Fixing Site: A Summary of the Article. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel Wednesday, 21 February 2024 10:00
                    • Unique Points
                      • . President Biden will email 153,000 student loan borrowers enrolled in his signature repayment plan to let them know their debts totaling $1.2 billion have been forgiven.
                      • The Education Department had originally planned to begin forgiveness in July but started identifying eligible borrowers this month.
                      • With this latest round of student loan forgiveness, the Biden administration has approved almost $138 billion in debt relief for 3.9 million people.
                    • Accuracy
                      No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
                    • Deception (100%)
                      None Found At Time Of Publication
                    • Fallacies (85%)
                      The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority when stating that the Education Department had originally planned to begin forgiveness in July but started identifying eligible borrowers this month. This statement implies that the department's plan is trustworthy and reliable without providing any evidence or context for it.
                      • Starting Wednesday, President Biden will email 153,000 student loan borrowers enrolled in his signature repayment plan to let them know their debts totaling $1.2 billion have been forgiven.
                    • Bias (85%)
                      The article contains a statement that implies the Biden administration is only forgiving loans for borrowers with low original balances who are enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (Save) plan. This suggests that there may be bias towards those who attended community colleges or dropped out of college, and against those who took out larger loans. Additionally, the article mentions that people will not need to take any further action to receive loan forgiveness which could imply an assumption that all borrowers are eligible for this program.
                      • Starting Wednesday, President Biden will email 153,000 student loan borrowers enrolled in his signature repayment plan to let them know their debts totaling $1.2 billion have been forgiven.
                      • Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
                        Danielle Douglas-Gabriel has a conflict of interest on the topic of student loan forgiveness as she is an employee of The Washington Post which has received significant financial support from companies in the education and finance industries that have a stake in this issue.
                        • Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
                          Danielle Douglas-Gabriel has conflicts of interest on the topics of student loan forgiveness and President Biden. She is a member of the American Federation for Teachers (AFT), which advocates for teacher pay raises and better working conditions. The AFT also supports student loan debt relief, including full debt cancellation.
                          • Danielle Douglas-Gabriel writes: