The Countdown: Biden administration pushes to drive down student loan debt
In this edition of 'The Countdown,' we detail the push by the Biden administration to drive down student loan debt.
It has been a big mission of the administration, but it has run into hurdles.
Last year, the administration announced a program that would have allowed 40 million people to receive up to $20,000 in federal student loan forgiveness, but two legal challenges halted the process.
In one of those challenges, several states said the Department of Education lacks the authority to cancel debt to this degree. The Supreme Court will decide the fate of the loan forgiveness program. That process has already begun.
The Biden administration submitted legal briefs last week. The two legal challengers will have to submit their sides by January 27. The Supreme Court is then expected to hear oral arguments sometime around late February or early March.
On Tuesday, the Department of Education announced proposed regulations that would cut undergraduate loan payments in half and would block unpaid interest accumulation.
We sat down with the Department of Education's Chief Economist Jordan Matsudaira to break it all down.
Here are some of the other headlines from Tuesday's show:
Minimum method interview
The new year has just begun and many of us take this time of year to rethink what's important to us. For a lot of us, it's about losing weight, maybe becoming more fit or overall leading a healthier lifestyle. But Joey Thurman, author of "The Minimum Method," says we might be overthinking our goal strategies. When I sat down with Thurman, his most important piece of advice was that you don't have to work harder, but work smarter.
NYC nurses strike latest
The nurses strike in New York City entered Day 2, with no contract agreement yet between the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and two hospitals, Mount Sinai Main and Montefiore Bronx. Picketing started again at 7 a.m. on Tuesday at four locations. Talks resumed at Montefiore Monday afternoon, and although an agreement was not reached, both sides have indicated they are close and will reconvene Tuesday. Mount Sinai and NYSNA have not returned to the table since breaking off at 1 a.m. Monday, and no new talks are scheduled.
You can watch 'The Countdown' live Monday-Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7NY.com or our ABC7NY app on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV.
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