CNN
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The head of the Education Department pledged Saturday to keep “moving full speed ahead” on plans to implement President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program, coming a day after a federal appeals court put a temporary hold on it, barring the administration from canceling loans covered under the policy while it’s under review.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona doubled down on the administration’s commitment to providing student debt relief in an op-ed published Saturday, and encouraged those eligible to continue applying through the live online application.
“Amid some Republicans trying every which way to block the Biden Administration’s debt relief program, the department is moving full speed ahead with preparations for the lawful implementation of our program so we can deliver relief to borrowers who need it most,” Cardona wrote in USA Today.
“Already, 22 million people have provided the department with the necessary information we need to review their eligibility for student debt relief. We encourage borrowers to continue to apply for debt relief at studentaid.gov,” he continued.
In a pairing video posted to Twitter, Cardona referred to the “baseless” lawsuits put forward by Republican-led states to stonewall the program.
Cardona stressed that nearly 90 percent of the debt relief plan’s benefits…
