Eight million federal student loan borrowers are waiting for the courts to decide if their repayment plan is legal, while another 9 million are late on their payments and may be plunging toward default. Illustration by Annelise Capossela for NPR hide caption
Senator Mark Warner in 2021. Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images hide caption
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in December. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
A nonprofit student loan group alleges that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has abandoned its duty to police widespread mismanagement of a loan forgiveness program for public service workers. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Nearly two-dozen U.S. senators are calling on Kathleen Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to investigate a loan servicer called the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
Kathleen Kraninger, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on March 7. On Thursday, she faced questions from senators about problems with a student loan program for public service workers. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
Janelle Menzel is a high school math teacher in Brainerd, Minn. After contacting her loan servicer repeatedly, trying to find a way to appeal, a call center worker told her, "Look, you just need to give up." Courtesy of Janelle Menzel hide caption
