“It’s more of a convenient moral gymnastics to say that people who cheat the federal government should be given a lighter touch than people who borrowed from it,” said economist Kathryn Anne Edwards.
The Education Department has paused applications to more affordable plans amid lawsuits against a Biden administration program known as SAVE.
More than 40 million borrowers with federal student loans have had a respite through the pandemic. That ends Jan. 31.
New study examines race and student debt.