Statement from Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on District Court Ruling on the Biden-Harris Administration Student Debt Relief Program

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement regarding today’s district court ruling on student debt relief :

"We believe strongly that the Biden-Harris Student Debt Relief Plan is lawful and necessary to give borrowers and working families breathing room as they recover from the pandemic and to ensure they succeed when repayment restarts.

"We are disappointed in the decision of the Texas court to block loan relief moving forward. Amidst efforts to block our debt relief program, we are not standing down. The Department of Justice has appealed today’s decision on our behalf, and we will continue to keep borrowers informed about our efforts to deliver targeted relief.

"More than 26 million borrowers have provided the information needed to process their applications for relief and 16 million applications have been approved and sent to loan servicers to be discharged when allowed by the courts.

"Separately, we remain committed to taking other actions to fix longstanding issues in the student loan forgiveness system and hold schools accountable for leaving students with mountains of debt and without the skills and preparation to find good jobs.

"Despite this decision, we will never stop fighting for the millions of hardworking students and borrowers across the country."