Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals’ Decision on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Plan to Save Valuable Education (SAVE)

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today issued the following statement regarding the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan:

“Today’s ruling by the 8th Circuit blocking President Biden’s SAVE plan could have devastating consequences for millions of student loan borrowers burdened by unaffordable monthly payments if the plan remains in effect. It is shameful that politically motivated lawsuits filed by Republican elected officials are once again standing in the way of reducing monthly payments for millions of borrowers.

“Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan will receive an interest-free suspension while our administration continues to vigorously defend the SAVE Plan in court. The Department will provide regular updates to borrowers affected by these decisions in the coming days.

“Not long ago, a million borrowers defaulted on their student loans each year, largely because they couldn’t afford to repay them. The SAVE Plan is a bold and urgent effort to fix what’s broken in our student loan system and make higher education more affordable in this country. The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to providing as much help as possible to as many borrowers as possible. We’ve already approved an unprecedented $169 billion in aid for nearly 4.8 million Americans, including teachers, veterans and other public servants, students who were cheated by their universities, borrowers with disabilities, and more. And from larger Pell Grants to free community college, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and I continue to believe that college affordability is a cause worth fighting for—and we’re not giving up.”