Millions of student loan borrowers are sitting in limbo after a fresh lawsuit was filed yesterday in an effort to block new student loan forgiveness plans.

The Biden administration and expected to start rolling out this fall.

The latest lawsuit affects the safe plan that's saving on valuable education, which is an income driven repayment program that reduces monthly payments for certain borrowers.

For now, those debt holders have been placed into an interest free forbearance.

But it's unclear what'll happen next.

The lawsuit is just the latest legal challenge to Biden's attempts at delivering debt relief before the November election and comes after the Supreme Court knocked down his proposed one time student loan forgiveness program.

For more on what borrowers need to know, I'm joined by Beverly Brown Bruja.

She's the financial justice program director at New Jersey Citizen Action.

Beverly, good to see you.

A lot of folks are wondering how the decision from the Supreme Court last week and now these this new lawsuit from another slate of Republican led states will affect their loans, which are still sitting there.

Unfortunately, the decisions are going to put millions of American student loan borrowers in limbo.

As you know, the Biden administration for the last several last few years has been working hard to make student loan repayment easier and more affordable.

Most recently, we have the SAVE program.

We have income driven repayment programs, a public service loan forgiveness program.

All of these policies together were helping students manage and pay back their loans more efficiently and in some cases have some of their debt actually canceled through the especially through the public service loan forgiveness program.

The decision by the court has put all of those programs on hold in that borrowers are not a new borrower or borrowers are not able to apply for these programs in the at the moment.

And then those who are in the programs have had the forward motion of their the programs are in stopped.

Are there so are the loans Beverly still sitting in forbearance and are they collecting interest or what happens now that things are really on an indefinite pause?

Many of the loans are going into forbearance and yes, in some cases collecting interest.

The problem is that people have many different situations.

So it depends on when people enrolled in these programs.

But yes, the programs saved.

There's a general forbearance for most of the people who are in that program.

Those who are trying to enroll are the applications have been suspended.

And so I think generally speaking, the best way to describe it is that the borrowers are in limbo.

Now, for those who are in forbearance in this moment, they don't have to make payments.

However, yes, in many cases the interest will continue to grow and people will have to pay that back.

Well, in the bigger question is how long, right?

I mean, how long will the government allow those loans to be in forbearance?

We don't really know at this stage.

You know, initially it's expected, I think, 60 days, but it's not clear how long this is going to go on.

It's very frustrating for people.

It's maddening.

You know, we came out of the COVID pause.

It was a little bit confusing to ramp up the repayment program.

And so people are very frustrated and it is confusing.

And in some cases, people who shouldn't be billed are receiving bills.

So the key thing is for people to go to student aid, get updated and accurate information, and they need to be looking for their particular situations.

There are so many different situations, Brianna.

Some people are left.

Some people are just an idea or some people were consolidating and got into save and now that's in limbo.

Is there any precedent for how long it may take this litigation to play out?

I, I can't say.

I mean, the problem is that what we see is, you know, even when one case is resolved, we seem to get new cases.

And so it's really quite harmful and disruptive that there seems to be there is a an active and ongoing campaign to sabotage so much of the good work that's been going on in the Department of Education through the Biden administration to clean up these programs, make them work, and get people into, you know, a positive or I should say get them into a situation where they can actually manage and pay back their loans.

Beverly Brown Political.

Fight.

Beverly Brown Ruggia is with New Jersey Citizen Action.

Beverly, thank you so much.

Thank you.