LOCALIZE IT: New student debt relief data by voting district

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

With President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation going before the Supreme Court later this month, the Education Department released new data on Friday breaking down how many borrowers applied for the relief in each of the nation’s congressional districts.

The national figures haven’t changed: An estimated 43 million borrowers are eligible for the one-time cancellation, and 26 million either applied for it or were automatically found to be eligible before the program was ordered to halt amid legal challenges from Republicans.

The debt forgiveness plan announced in August would cancel $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income. Pell Grant recipients, who typically demonstrate more financial need, would get an additional $10,000 in debt forgiven.

The data, released about two weeks before the conservative-dominated Supreme Court hears arguments over the plan, sheds light on the distribution of borrowers across voting districts, providing a more detailed look than had previously been released.

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WHAT THE FIGURES SHOW

In every congressional district, at least half of eligible borrowers either applied or were automatically found to be eligible for the cancellation, the data show. And in each district, at least 30% of eligible borrowers were approved for the relief before the plan was blocked.

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HOW TO ACCESS THE DATA

To find the data for your district, visit https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus and scroll to the “Postsecondary Education” category. The first link should be “Student Debt Relief Application Data by Congressional District,” which downloads a spreadsheet with the new data.

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REPORTING LINES

— What percent of student loan borrowers in your congressional district applied or were automatically eligible for relief?

— What percent of student loan borrowers in your congressional district had their applications for debt cancellation approved?

— How are student loan borrowers waiting out the Supreme Court argument and eventual decision?

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READ MORE FROM AP

https://apnews.com/hub/student-loans

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Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org.