NCL urges Senate committee to pass the College for All Act

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August 28, 2023

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, 202-823-8442

Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) urged the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance to favorably report the College for All Act of 2023.

” The National Consumers League1 (NCL) urges the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance to favorably report S.1963, or the College for All Act of 2023, without delay. The College for All Act would transform the nation’s system of higher education by allowing millions of students to pursue college degrees that they otherwise could not afford. Additionally, it would prevent student debt from continuing to burden future attendees of higher learning, a significant issue currently affecting graduates, individuals with partial educational attainment, and parents of students.” 

The full letter can be found here.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

National Consumers League Live Event Ticketing Principles

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By John Breyault, Vice President, Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud

The ticketing industry is the gatekeeper to much of our nation’s arts, sports and culture. What should be an exciting moment—securing a seat for your favorite event —has become exceedingly frustrating for many consumers as they navigate a confusing ticket-buying process laden with hidden fees.

NCL works on behalf of fans for all live events to ensure that consumers get the best possible experience, the best bargain for their hard earned dollars and don’t feel they’ve been ripped off with gotcha added costs, like mandatory “convenience fees” “processing fees” “venue fees” or the like when purchasing live event tickets.

Consumers are at the mercy of a rigged ticket marketplace. One company – Live Nation Entertainment (LNE) — dominates the marketplace. The company was created after Ticketmaster and Live Nation were given the green light to merge by the Department of Justice in 2009, despite strong consumer and business opposition.  LNE today controls around 80% of primary ticketing services, owns or has exclusive rights to operate many venues, and has major positions in artist management and event promotion. In 2022, LNE reported $4.5 billion in revenue from ticket resale, more than double what it earned in 2019, making it one of the largest players in the secondary ticket market.

Not surprisingly, LNE engages in practices typical of monopolies, working to drive out competitors. NCL and other consumer groups are leading the charge to unwind the ill-advised 2009 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster and restore healthy competition to the marketplace.

NCL believes that ticket resale has a legitimate place in the live event marketplace. The availability of ticket resale services provides a hedge for consumers who buy season tickets or non-refundable tickets, and is also a source for ticket buyers to get bargains when supply outpaces demand, allowing them to save money on below-face value tickets.

Below are some general principles on ticketing that NCL supports.

  1. We want the DOJ and Congress to unwind the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger.
  2. Hidden ticket fees, deceptive dark patterns, and other anticompetitive ticketing practices should be prohibited. “All in” ticket pricing should be required so that consumers can compare prices from one site to another.
  3. Ticket holdbacks (also known as allocations) should be disclosed to ticket buyers prior to purchase.
  4. Secondary ticket exchanges should be required to disclose the face value of tickets offered for sale on their platforms.
  5. Ticket resellers should be prohibited from engaging in deceptive practices that are deliberately intended to confuse consumers into believing they are buying tickets from the primary seller. Deceptive design practices such as using URLs or other indicia of affiliation with a venue, team, or artist and by paying for search engine optimization that results in resale websites appearing higher in search results than the official box offices should be prohibited.
  6. Secondary ticket exchanges should be required to closely monitor their ticket inventory to ensure that they are not listing tickets obtained in violation of federal or state laws.
  7. All stakeholders in the live event industry should be required to assist enforcement agency’s efforts to stop illegal automated ticket buying and resale.
  8. Federal or state law enforcement agencies should investigate how tickets appear on the secondary ticket market at prices far above face value before offered for sale by primary ticket sellers and whether such sales violate applicable laws.

To these ends, NCL has endorsed legislative reforms to protect ticket buyers and promote competition in the live event industry, such as the BOSS and SWIFT Act and the TICKET Act.

What’s going on with student debt cancellation?

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By Eden Iscil, Public Policy Manager

A few weeks ago, the US Supreme Court ignored the facts of the case in front of them and wrongfully ruled that President Biden’s first attempt at cancelling student debt was illegal. While the Court was misguided and seemingly hellbent on making life worse for millions of Americans, debt cancellation is not dead. Earning much less media coverage than the Court’s ruling, President Biden announced on that same day that his Department of Education had initiated a plan B for debt cancellation. Additionally, he revealed a 12-month “on-ramp” to repayment. Here’s what we know so far about these two programs. 

Plan B for cancelling student debt 

Over the past 60 years, Congress passed two laws giving the secretary of education the authority to cancel student debts—the Supreme Court’s ruling last month only applied to one of them. While there is still one more legal avenue available for the Education Department to broadly cancel student debt, the law requires a lengthy regulatory process to get there. Specifically, the department must initiate a negotiated rulemaking, seeking input from various stakeholders involved in student debt. From nominating and appointing negotiators to reaching a final recommendation for the Department, this stage will likely finish around the end of the year. 

Next, the Department will have to publish a proposed rule outlining the parameters of the debt cancellation plan. Currently, the administration has not spoken to how much debt will be cancelled under plan B and who will be eligible beyond an intention to deliver “debt relief for as many borrowers as possible.” This means that we shouldn’t expect to see the details of plan B until early 2024. And once the Department publishes its proposal, there will be a 60-90 day comment period for the public to submit their thoughts on the plan. Only after this comment period is finished (and the Department has read the public’s thoughts) can the program go into effect. Once all of these steps are completed, it will likely be around springtime next year at the very earliest. 

A 12-month “on ramp” to repayment 

Congress set September 30 as the last day of the federal loan payment pause. Without some form of debt cancellation, it is estimated that repayment will put over 9 million borrowers into default. Recognizing this reality and its legal inability to extend the current payment pause thanks to Congress, the Department will waive certain repayment related penalties from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024. 

Specifically, during this year-long period, missing a monthly federal loan payment: 

  • Will not result in default or delinquency 
  • Will not be reported to credit bureaus 
  • And will not be referred to debt collection agencies 

While both plan B and the 12-month on ramp are imperfect, the Department is taking steps to minimize harm and is still working to deliver debt relief. It’s important that we continue to show our support for debt cancellation, especially during the public comment period. We should not tolerate an educational system that results in lifelong debt and average monthly payments of $500. 

From class action to mass arbitration: Exposing corporate evasion in modern commerce

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Sally Greenberg

By Sally Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer

July 6, 2023: Several decades ago, clever lawyers for large corporations came up with a scheme to prevent their clients from being held accountable for wrongdoing. They did so by putting “forced arbitration clauses” in consumer and business contracts. The effect was to block consumers and others from getting access to the courts, and instead force them into arbitration, which is a private system for deciding legal cases that is controlled largely by the corporation itself.

It was a sad day for consumers when the Supreme Court gave its blessings to this underhanded scheme; today forced arbitration clauses are put into virtually every contract that we as consumers are forced to sign in exchange for services like cable, cell phone, credit cards, mobile homes, and car sales.

Class action lawsuits have served as a critical safeguard for consumers against powerful corporate interests; they remain an essential pillar of corporate accountability. These collective legal battles help to restore consumer rights and maintain marketplace ethics. Landmark cases such as the Enron scandal, which highlighted fraudulent accounting practices, class actions against the makers of addictive opioids and against those responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill illustrate again the power of collective legal action.

But now, as consumers are fighting back and cleverly using forced arbitration in their favor, corporate America is crying foul. The very companies that championed forced arbitration and blocked class actions don’t much like it when they have a taste of their own medicine.

According to Consumer Reports, for example, a new strategy, mass arbitration, has already had a significant impact. It has pressured several corporate defendants—including Uber, DoorDash, Samsung, Chipotle, and DraftKings—to grapple with accusations they otherwise could have swatted away. And it reportedly led at least one corporate giant, Amazon, to remove mandatory arbitration provisions altogether from its retail website’s terms of use.

According to the magazine, a group of enterprising lawyers representing about 40,000 TurboTax customers employed a kind of legal jiujitsu: They simultaneously filed thousands of arbitration claims, swamping Intuit with fees, prompting the company into a hasty retreat. But it was too late for the company: Several judges have refused to let Intuit out of the arbitrations, with one commenting that the company has been “hoisted by [its] own petard.”

Sadly, the companies are nevertheless employing delaying tactics, exploiting loopholes, and resisting the system they once endorsed and in fact created, all of which points to the need for an overhaul of the system.

Recent arbitration reforms in California offer a glimmer of hope. They champion a justice system built on fairness, transparency, and accountability. Reforms must tackle forced arbitration clauses and corporations from exploiting system vulnerabilities and face strict penalties for stalling or refusing to engage with the system they created.

As consumers, employees, and members of society, we must insist on corporate transparency and accountability; giving consumers a fair shake is more important than ever. Only then can we end corporate evasion, restore balance in our dispute resolution processes, and protect individual consumer rights against corporate wrongdoing.

Team from Hawaii wins its state’s first National LifeSmarts Championship

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May 2, 2023

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

Photos from the 2023 National LifeSmarts Championships can be found here.

The team from Maryknoll School in Honolulu, Hawaii, was crowned the 2023 National LifeSmarts Champion in Cincinnati, Ohio, this past Sunday, April 30. In 29 years of LifeSmarts competition this is the first-ever win for The Aloha State.

The all-senior team, coached by Kit U Wong, competed against Dallas High School from Dallas, Pennsylvania, in the championship match. The 2023 members of the team from Hawaii include: Captain Chris Ho, Adam Nelson, Maddi Agustin, Kaitlyn McLeod, and Benson Leung.

Joining Hawaii and Pennsylvania in Sunday’s semifinal matches were teams from Georgia and Rhode Island. Teams from the District of Columbia, Kansas, Washington, and Wisconsin all made it to the top eight.

Forty-two student teams traveled from across the country to compete over four days at the iconic Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza in Downtown Cincinnati.

“This year’s Nationals, like past competitions, were riveting,” said LifeSmarts Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “Each year, teams from across the United States come ready to compete, learn from each other, and enjoy their time together. We are thrilled for Team Hawaii’s first ever-win. Congratulations to the Maryknoll Spartans!”

“I commend all of the students who competed hard and demonstrated such a breadth of consumer knowledge,” continued Hertzberg. “They are the best and brightest from across the country, and they should all be proud of their accomplishments.”

LifeSmarts is an education and scholarship program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization. It competitively tests high school students’ knowledge of consumer awareness, with subjects including personal finance, health and safety, consumer rights and responsibility, technology and workforce preparation, and the environment. LifeSmarts is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in partnership with student leadership programs such as 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, SkillsUSA. and others.

Each student on the first-place team received a $1,500.00 scholarship; second-place team members received $1,000.00 scholarships; and third-place team members received $750 scholarships. Team members who placed fourth received gift cards.

Teens from each of the 42 teams represented at Nationals also competed as individuals, and the top-scoring student in each LifeSmarts subject received a $500 scholarship from NCL. The 2023 winners are:

  • Consumer Rights and Responsibilities: Lucas Carver, Pennsylvania
  • Environment: Hannah Christianson, Washington
  • Health and Safety: Marie Popielarz, Pennsylvania
  • Personal Finance: Mahi Dohl, Pennsylvania
  • Technology and Workforce Preparation: Chris Ho, Hawaii

Natalie Keller from Selah High School in Washington State and Gabe Laster from Norton Wild Card 9 from Lebanon, Missouri, were awarded co-LifeSmarts Students of the Year. They each received $100 Amazon gift cards.

Winning recognition as LifeSmarts Coaches of the Year were Tina Steinert from Kansas, Dave Handt from Varsity Wild Card 4 from North Dakota and Bea Roberson from Oklahoma  All three LifeSmarts coaches received $100 Amazon gift cards.

LifeSmarts State Coordinator of the Year was awarded to Brittani Lee, Georgia State Coordinator, who has been a devoted advocate for LifeSmarts for many years, growing the state program and seeing four teams from Georgia advance to this year’s National LifeSmarts Championship.

The Sarah Weinberg LifeSmarts Memorial Scholarship, given each year to a student who demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to community service, was awarded to Kaitlyn Johnson of Delaware.

NCL’s partnership with UL Standards & Engagement has elevated the issues surrounding counterfeit products. Winners of the Be Safe Buy Real digital poster contest were Bianca Murphy from Colorado, Kianna Siebert from Minnesota, Marie Popielarz, Caiden Brown from Texas, Aminah Ali from Texas, Jesse Peddycord Contreras from Varsity Wild Card 4 in North Dakota, Samuel Steele from Kansas, and Jesse Taylor from Kansas. Bailey Bennett and Anunya Madhavaraman—both from Georgia—were JV (middle school) winners. Each recipient received a $100 cash prize.

Winners in the Norton Identity Theft essay contest were Kaitlyn Johnson, Reyna Brown Muhammad from Alabama, Joe Rutledge from Georgia, Allie Higgins from Idaho, and Alison Thompson from Wisconsin. Each received a $1,000 scholarship for their winning essays providing solutions to identity theft.

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. sponsored five scholarships which were awarded to students who impacted their communities with presentations and social media campaigns about OTC medicine safety. Winners were Emma Bayer of Norton Wild Card 2 in Georgia, Bryan Cabrera Icte from Delaware, Luis Felipe del Solar from Louisiana, Seth Moon from Georgia, and Kianna Siebert.

The LifeSmarts Team Spirit Award went to Calhan High School. The team from Colorado demonstrated outstanding camaraderie and great sportsmanship throughout the four-day championship.

The social media awards for most engaged on Instagram and our new meme contest were very popular among the students. The best meme went to Alyssa Harmon from Norton Wild Card 8. The Instagram winners were Amelia Gindorf from Arizona, Jada Sturdivant from Alabama and Autumn Negen from the Norton Wild Card 8 team. Each team also created a t-shirt and votes for the People’s Choice were collected on Instagram with that award went to the Washington team. The judge’s selections were Alabama and Oklahoma.

Sponsors of the 2023 National LifeSmarts Championship are as follows:

Platinum: Amazon, Johnson & Johnson Consumers Inc., Norton

Gold: Discover, Tide

Silver: Comcast, FICO, Melaleuca, Meta, P&G, Toyota

Bronze: American Express, JPMorgan Chase, UL Standards & Engagement, WSECU

At Sunday’s closing ceremony, NCL also announced that the 2024 National LifeSmarts Championship, which marks the program’s 30th anniversary, will take place in San Diego, California.

To learn more about LifeSmarts, visit www.lifesmarts.org.

About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a comprehensive consumer education program that is free to middle school and high school students and educators. The goal of the LifeSmarts program is to create consumer-savvy young people who will be better equipped for adult life in today’s complex, global marketplace. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit nclnet.org.

Cincinnati to host 2023 National LifeSmarts Championship event April 27-30

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Apr 25, 2023

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

Washington, DC — The 29th National LifeSmarts Championship, the youth consumer education program of the National Consumers League, kicks off this Thursday, April 27, at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, a National Historic Landmark in downtown Cincinnati. The four-day annual event hosts students from across the United States competing for prizes while showcasing their knowledge of real-life consumer issues that focus on the five content areas: personal finance, consumer rights, technology and career readiness, health and safety, and the environment.

Each year, LifeSmarts competitors answer more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams—as well as several wildcard teams—advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city.

This year’s competition in Cincinnati will feature 42 teams representing 30 states and the District of Columbia, 14 wild card teams, and 28 state champions. NCL is also pleased to announce the special initiative to bring 10 teams from Title 1 schools to this year’s championship.

Click here for more information on this year’s National LifeSmarts Championship.

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About LifeSmarts
LifeSmarts is a comprehensive consumer education program that is free to middle school and high school students and educators. The goal of the LifeSmarts program is to create consumer-savvy young people who will be better equipped for adult life in today’s complex, global marketplace. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts announces expanded partnership with Discover® Student Loans

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April 3, 2023

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, 202-823-8442

During Financial Literacy Month, LifeSmarts, a teen consumer literacy education program, is expanding lessons to help high school students prepare to get the most out of their post-secondary education.

Washington, DC – The 29th National LifeSmarts Championship is on the horizon for the National Consumers League’s (NCL) youth consumer education program. Through LifeSmarts, students learn about real-life consumer issues and compete to win prizes and scholarships at the National LifeSmarts Championship in April each year. To highlight the start of Financial Literacy Month in April, NCL is proud to announce an expansion of lessons on financial aid and financing a post-secondary education and a new lesson about choosing a college major, made possible by Discover Student Loans.

From April 27-30, 2023, high school students from across the country will meet in Cincinnati, OH, to compete in the annual event. The competition takes place over four days during which students will showcase their knowledge of personal finance topics, as well as consumer rights, technology and career readiness, health and safety, and the environment.

LifeSmarts prepares students for life after high school, including guiding students to consider post-secondary education options, and understanding how their choices will impact their readiness for the careers they wish to pursue. LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered.

Thanks to this partnership with Discover Student Loans, LifeSmarts is expanding upon financial aid lessons created in 2022 and featuring student loan questions throughout the National Championship. In addition, next fall a new lesson will help high school students choose a college major using tools available via the website College Covered. CollegeCovered.com was created by Discover Student Loans to provide students, parents and high school counselors with the know-how to plan and pay for college. The website offers a variety of resources and tips for each step of the college planning process.

“We are pleased to work with Discover Student Loans to help our students learn about all aspects of post-secondary education,” said National Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “We are especially gratified to expand our educational materials to help students consider their own path and the coursework that will set them up for future success.”

Last year, students answered more than 3.5 million consumer questions about financing post-secondary education, credit reports, nutrition, social media, and everything in between. More than 110,000 students used LifeSmarts materials in their classrooms and extracurricular activities.

“Each year, LifeSmarts brings new opportunities for high school students to learn invaluable information to prepare them for life beyond high school,” says NCL President Sally Greenberg. “Too often, traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information to become successful adults, and LifeSmarts helps to close that gap with lessons that now include choosing a college major.”

“Our expanded partnership with LifeSmarts allows them to add more real-world lessons addressing important topics like financing a college education,” said Nicole Straub, Senior Vice President for Discover Student Loans. “Having a better understanding on how to pay for college sets students and their families up to make smarter financial decisions for their future.”

Discover Student Loans also offers a scholarship opportunity for students and parents. Throughout the year, 12 eligible students or parents will be randomly selected to win a $5,000 Discover Student Loans Scholarship Award to help cover college expenses. Students and parents can click here to enter to win this $5,000 scholarship. Drawings held monthly. No purchase or loan necessary to enter or win.

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a comprehensive consumer education program that is free to middle school and high school students and educators. The goal of the LifeSmarts program is to create consumer-savvy young people who will be better equipped for adult life in today’s complex, global marketplace. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit nclnet.org.

Debt cancellation is not Biden’s only aid to borrowers

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By Eden Iscil, Public Policy Associate

If you’ve got student loans like I do, you were probably waiting on President Biden’s student debt cancellation since January 6, 2021. And in late August, President Biden delivered on this promise and announced up to $20,000 in relief for borrowers. While the one-time debt relief has dominated headlines (and rightfully so), Biden’s Department of Education (ED) has implemented a few other noteworthy changes to the federal student loan system—reforms that could save thousands of dollars for millions of borrowers.

Here is a brief (and non-exhaustive) overview of recent modifications to US student loan infrastructure that consumers should keep in mind.

One-Time Debt Cancellation

The application for one-time debt relief is live and can be accessed at https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application. The process is 100% free and it takes less than five minutes to complete. This is the only website to which consumers should be providing information to receive debt cancellation. Filers do not need to go digging for old forms, IDs, or income receipts as the only information the application requires is name, date of birth, email, and Social Security number. The ED may contact select borrowers to verify eligibility or request further information, but unless you are contacted, you are good.

Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year are eligible for up to $10,000 in debt relief on federally held student loans. This amount increases to $20,000 in cancellation for Pell Grant recipients. Student loans eligible for cancellation must be held by the federal government and disbursed on or before June 30, 2022.

Student loans eligible for Biden’s debt cancellation include:

· Federal Direct Loans (including Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Direct parent PLUS Loans, and Direct Consolidated Loans)

· Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) held by ED

· Federal Perkins Loans held by ED

· FFEL and/or Perkins loans that were privately held but the borrower applied for these loans to be consolidated into a US ED consolidation loan before September 29, 2022

Student loans not eligible for the federal, one-time debt cancellation include:

· FFEL loans not held by ED

· Perkins Loans not held by ED

· Federal loans that were consolidated into a commercial loan

· Student loans held by a private lender

· Student loans held by a state government

Refunds for Loan Payments Made During the Pandemic

If you had paid off your federal loan balance after the pandemic began, you can request a refund for those payments to receive your debt relief. This should be done before applying for the debt cancellation. Also, this should only be done if you paid off your entire balance and would otherwise be unable to claim debt relief. If you still have an outstanding balance equal to or greater than the amount of debt cancellation you are eligible for, you likely do not want to request a refund for your payments.

To get your money back, call your loan servicer directly to ask for a refund on payments you made since March 13, 2020. You should figure out the specific amount of money you are requesting back before contacting your servicer. Additionally, you should have your payment confirmations and receipts nearby throughout this process to ensure that you get a refund for every payment that you want refunded. Then, you should apply for the one-time debt cancellation.

Will Debt Relief Be Taxed?

The one-time debt relief will not be taxed by the federal government, thanks to a provision within the 2021 American Rescue Plan. States, however, can tax debt cancellation as income. This is something that a small number of states have weirdly said they intend to do, while a handful of others may also end up taxing their residents on debt relief by failing to pass legislation in time to exempt the debt cancellation. Most states though will not tax the relief for borrowers.

Federal Payment Pause Ending

President Biden coupled the sweet with the sour by announcing the end of the federal payment pause on student loans alongside the debt cancellation. Since early 2020, student borrowers have not had to pay a cent toward their federal student loans. Now, that payment pause (AKA administrative forbearance) is set to expire on December 31, 2022, it is unclear what the impact will be of an added monthly expense to tens of millions of borrowers (especially as recession worries grow). The two-and-a-half-year pause made clear that these payments are not necessary—Biden, there’s still time to change your mind!

A New Income-Driven Repayment Plan

While receiving a significantly lesser share of the headlines, the new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan will have a significant impact. As opposed to standard repayment plans, which are calculated only from the principal loan balance, the interest rate, and the length of repayment, ED’s IDR plans put a cap on a borrower’s monthly payments proportional to the borrower’s income. Although a few IDR plans have been available for some time, President Biden’s newly announced IDR plan includes enhanced provisions to help prevent debt from becoming unmanageable.

The new IDR plan will place a payment cap at 5% of a borrower’s discretionary income (half of the previous 10%). Additionally, it will raise the threshold for non-discretionary income to 225% of the federal poverty level (the equivalent of $15/hr); borrowers earning less than this amount will not have to make a monthly payment. Furthermore, borrowers with original loan balances of $12,000 or less will have their debt wiped out in 10 years of enrollment in this IDR plan. Lastly, if monthly payments are made, the ED will cover the added interest, ensuring that borrowers’ outstanding balance does not grow, even if their monthly payment is $0 due to their income level.

To enroll in the new IDR plan when it becomes available, or to switch to any of the four existing ones, visit https://studentaid.gov/idr/.

Fresh Start for Borrowers in Default

When the federal payment pause ends on December 31, 2022, the federal government will open their Fresh Start program for one year, allowing borrowers who were previously in default to enter repayment in good standing. The program will not require anything like a lump sum payment or consolidation, but it will remove the many penalties associated with default, such as wage garnishment and the denial of further student aid.

More details on how to enroll when this program opens on January 1, 2023 can be found at https://studentaid.gov/freshstart.

LifeSmarts announces partnership with Discover® Student Loans  

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Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

During Financial Literacy Month, LifeSmarts teen consumer literacy program has introduced a new lesson focused on financing a college education and understanding student loans.

March 31, 2022

Washington, DC– The 28th National LifeSmarts Championship is on the horizon for the National Consumers League’s (NCL) youth consumer education program. Through LifeSmarts students learn about real-life consumer issues and compete to win prizes and scholarships at the National LifeSmarts Championship in April each year. Tomorrow, April 1, is the start of Financial Literacy Month. To commemorate this month, NCL is proud to announce a new lesson about financing a college education, made possible through financial support from Discover Student Loans.

On April 21, 39 teams from across the country will meet in Washington, DC, to compete in the 2022 National LifeSmarts Championship.  The Championship competition takes place over four days in which students will showcase their knowledge of personal finance topics as well as consumer rights, technology and workforce preparation, health and safety, and the environment.

Thanks to Discover Student Loans, LifeSmarts has created a new lesson on financial aid, with questions that will be featured in the National Championship. In the fall, the lessons and new competition focus will be fully integrated into the program for the new school year. Students and educators will see a concentration on personal finance topics at both the 2022 and 2023 National LifeSmarts Championships.

“We are so pleased to work with Discover Student Loans to help our students learn more about the important subject of paying for post-secondary education,” said National Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “We know LifeSmarts gives students the skills they need to succeed as adults, and we see students applying what they learn immediately at home and in their communities. We are thrilled to be able to give special focus to the most crucial lessons in personal finance, and we look forward to rolling out new resources for educators and opportunities for student participants.”

Last year, students answered more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, nutrition, social media, and everything in between. More than 100,000 students will participate this year.

LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered. “We are excited to have the opportunity to focus on personal finance for consumers at this age, when they are beginning to make decisions for themselves and influencing decisions made by their parents,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL. “Too often, traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information to become successful adults, and LifeSmarts helps to close that gap.”

“It’s important that students and their families plan and save for college expenses, pursue free financial aid such as grants and scholarships, and understand the options for federal and private student loans,” said PK Parekh, senior vice president of Discover Student Loans. “We are very happy to work with LifeSmarts to help students learn through real-world lessons about personal finance, financial aid, and responsible borrowing.”

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a comprehensive consumer education program that is free to middle school and high school students and educators. The goal of the LifeSmarts program is to create consumer savvy young people who will be better equipped for adult life in today’s complex, global marketplace. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts consumer literacy program launches 2021-22 season with new online learning, scholarship, and community service opportunities for teens

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Millions of student leaders have gained real-world knowledge through the program’s 27 years of education and competition

September 13, 2021
Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242

Washington, DC—Today marks the official launch of the 2021-2022 season of LifeSmarts, a national scholarship competition and educational program for middle-school and high-school students that tests knowledge of real-life consumer issues and is helping to create a future generation of consumer-savvy adults. A new season of LifeSmarts goes live online at LifeSmarts.org today. LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League, the nation’s pioneering consumer advocacy watchdog.

“We are very excited to launch this season of LifeSmarts,” said Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “For more than a quarter century, LifeSmarts has given students the skills they need to succeed as adults. We’ve seen more than 1.5 million students gain knowledge, confidence, leadership capabilities, and team-building skills. The competition is fun, and the impact of LifeSmarts is life-long.”

As our nation’s education institutions continue to evolve in response to the pandemic, LifeSmarts has evolved as well, offering tools to meet the needs of instructors whether they are teaching inside a classroom or remotely.

“No matter what modality schools are using, LifeSmarts has resources for educators and parents to use during this unique time,” said Hertzberg. “Developing smart and successful citizens, workers, and consumers is always our mission, and we’re here to help students and educators meet the challenges imposed by COVID-19.”

LifeSmarts focuses on five main content areas:

  • consumer rights & responsibilities
  • personal finance
  • technology & workforce prep
  • health & safety
  • the environment

Each year, LifeSmarts competitors answer more than 3.5 million consumer questions about credit reports, recycling, nutrition, social media, state lemon laws, and everything in between. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of these subject areas during online competition. Top-performing teams then advance to statewide competitions, and state champion teams, as well as several wildcard teams, advance to the national championship held each year in a different American city.

The 2022 National LifeSmarts Championship is scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, April 21-24, 2022, where State Champion and Wild Card teams will meet to compete for the national title. Last year’s competition was held virtually.

In addition to online, state, and national competitions, LifeSmarts recognition and awards occur throughout the program year:

Teams of students vie for cash prizes in the online TeamSmarts quiz, which focuses on a specific LifeSmarts content area each month from September through February.

Classroom mentor programs: Five $1,000 scholarships are awarded each winter to winning LifeSmarts students who become LifeSmarts OTC Medicine Safety Mentors to educate younger students and community members about medicine safety. LifeSmarts thanks Johnson & Johnson for underwriting this important community service project.

Partnering with FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America), 4-H, and FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America), LifeSmarts complements these organizations’ projects, judging events, competitive events, and activities. LifeSmarts offers special opportunities for members of these student leadership organizations.

LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia.

“We are proud of the impact LifeSmarts has made entering its 28th  year educating teens, and we are excited to continue to grow the LifeSmarts program, to educate students about financial literacy, and to create a new generation of savvy, market-ready consumers and workers,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “Too often traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information that will be crucial once students go to college, get their first job, or move out of their parents’ house.”

In addition to hosting the official LifeSmarts competition, LifeSmarts.org provides resources for educators to supplement existing lesson plans. These include daily quizzes, educational videos, lessons, focused study guides, and scholarship opportunities. LifeSmarts lessons closely align with courses taught in family and consumer sciences, business, technology, health, and vocational education. Math and English teachers have also had success with LifeSmarts, as have homeschool and community educators.

Major LifeSmarts contributors include: Amazon, American Express, Intuit, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Melaleuca, NortonLifeLock, Toyota, Underwriters Laboratories, Western Union, and WSECU, along with a number of state and local sponsors.

Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information.

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About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators run the programs on a volunteer basis. For more information, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at 202-835-3323.

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.