People rally in support of the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan in front of the the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 28, 2023.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Anyone can join: here’s how
The virtual event is free and runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Eastern time. You can join the public hearing on student loan relief at Eventbrite.
Speakers will each have 4 minutes
Those who wanted to comment at the hearing had to send an email by noon on Monday to negreghearing@ed.gov.
If you didn’t meet that deadline, it should still be an interesting event to listen in on, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
“They can hear what other people are saying,” he said. Each person should speak for around four minutes.
There will also be a public comment period down the road, Kantrowitz said, during which anyone can submit their preferences and ideas on the subject.
Process could take a year or longer
Tuesday’s hearing should influence Biden’s proposed new rule for delivering people relief. The entire process could take a year or longer, Kantrowitz said.
That’s because unlike with Biden’s first attempt to forgive student debt quickly through an executive order, this time he’s turning to the rulemaking procedure.
“If the Biden administration is successful in providing loan forgiveness under the HEA,” Kantrowitz said, “borrowers could see forgiveness around the time of the election.”
