Key student-loan relief is on the line as Congress once again works to avoid a government shutdown

Business Insider 

Avelet Sheffey

January 8, 2024

Congress is back to negotiating spending bills as a government shutdown looms.

Funding for the labor and education bill will lapse on February 2 without an agreement on new spending.

The GOP’s proposal for education funding would cut resources for student-loan borrowers.

The government is once again facing the threat of a shutdown if Congress doesn’t act soon — and key programs for student-loan borrowers are set to be a part of spending negotiations.

In November, Congress voted to pass Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s “laddered” government funding bill that extended funding for four spending bills through January 19, and the remaining eight bills through February 2.

That means lawmakers are once again facing a time crunch to agree on a solution that would prevent a government shutdown early this year. They’ll need to negotiate the contents of the remaining spending bills in order to do so. On Sunday, congressional leaders said they’d agreed on reaching a total of $1.66 trillion in spending.

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