(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The Department of Education sent out 9 million emails to student loan forgiveness applicants, explaining that an initial email telling them their application was approved was an error.
According to the secondary email, the initial announcement was an error.
“Due to a vendor error, you recently received an email with a subject line indicating your application for the one-time Student Loan Debt Relief Plan had been approved,” the email reads. “The subject line was inaccurate.”
Since the announcement of the student loan forgiveness program in August, multiple lawsuits have been filed against the federal government in an attempt to halt the program, the Daily Caller reported.
A spokesperson for the DOE claimed that they simply wanted to “quickly and effectively” communicate with borrowers, but it appears that they jumped the gun.
“[Tuesday’s email] may not seem like a big deal, but borrowers are trying to figure out how to move on with their lives,” Persis Yu, deputy executive director and managing counsel for the Student Borrower Protection Center said. “And so they’re hanging on these words and these words matter.”
President Joe Biden claims he has the authority to forgive student loans under the HEROES Act of 2003, which includes a provision for emergencies such as the COVID pandemic.
However, according to Biden, the pandemic is over, leaving many unsure what the official status of the pandemic is.
The DOE received about 26 million applications for loan forgiveness and approved 16 million before lawsuits stopped the program.
The U.S. Supreme Court will make a decision regarding the program in the spring.
Several lawsuits levied against the federal government by several different state Attorneys General have been in and out of courts. A lower court dismissed the case due to failure to prove harm.
One suit eventually took hold in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, allowing the temporary halt of the program until the Supreme Court hears the case.
