Appearing in The New York Times on August 19, 2026, Tara Siegel Bernard talks to Abby Shafroth, director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project, about how Congress worsened terms for some existing borrowers. Now they’ll have to pay more, and for a longer term.
This appears to be the first time that the government has changed the terms of income-driven repayment plans so that existing borrowers are generally worse off, according to borrower advocates and legal experts.
“Congress really pulled the rug out from under them by abruptly increasing their financial obligations after the fact, and as borrowers realize this they are shocked and furious. I’m sympathetic to Congress’s desire to simplify student loan repayment options, but this was the wrong way to do it.”
Abby Shafroth, director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project.
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