after being paused for more than three years due to the covid-19 pandemic it's time for student loan borrowers to again make payments on their debt there are more than 45 million Americans with student loan debt including more than 1 million in New Jersey President Biden's previous effort to forgive student loan debt was struck down by the Supreme Court but his administration is still trying to find ways to help those with the biggest burdens Ted Goldberg reports on what borrowers are facing and what hope for Relief they may still have they were garnishing his paycheck for those student loans which took a huge chunk out of his take-home pay um you know and money that he actually had to be able to support himself and his children tashear Cosby saw her son and grandchildren move back home because of student loan debt Cosby's son studied at Bloomfield College but couldn't graduate because financial aid ran out that was about 10 years ago and he still owes more than a hundred and twenty thousand dollars Cosby's daughter graduated from Stockton University and owes forty thousand dollars at one point she was working three jobs she has sent you know fat work in those three jobs but I fear that now having to repay these student loans will make her have to now go back out and maybe get a second job Cosby's children are two of the 45 million Americans who have to repay federal student loans after a three-year pause during the pandemic more than a million of those borrowers live in New Jersey and they owe nearly 45 billion dollars combined per person and it's about thirty six thousand dollars each Cosby hopes the rising cost of college is something congress examines especially after President Biden's partial loan forgiveness plan was struck down by the Supreme Court this summer I really hope that they start to think about the future of young people who have to take out these student loans and what it means for their lives when they when they get out of college what it means for um them being able to be successful but also to have a sustainable life given the atmosphere in Congress right now and the debates that are going on I don't have a lot of confidence right now that that would happen which is why it's all the more important for student borrowers to know what plans and programs do exist Beverly Brown rujo works for New Jersey citizen action she says the smartest thing borrowers can do is know their options and get on a payment plan quickly it's important that students are aware of something called the save program which is saving on a valuable education that's the acronym and it it is a new income driven repayment program if they don't make the payment within 30 days there's a likelihood that the the servicer is going to report that to the credit bureaus a one times 30-day late payment on your credit report when a student with a student loan could easily be 50 to 100 points Paul Oster leads better qualified a credit repair firm in Eatontown he's seen Biden's newest plan for a forgiving debt a narrower proposal that would help eight hundred thousand people on income driven repayment plans Oster thinks the Supreme Court would also strike it down as unconstitutional I don't think it survives I think this one also gets rejected unfortunately or fortunately depending upon what your thoughts are on this um it's just not what it was meant to be I asked Cosby if she thought her children regretted taking out those loans and attending four-year schools not at all um I thought I had an amazing experience at Stockton she was able to go abroad um and and have some fantastic experiences met amazing people still have connections for my son he's not working in that particular career field but I think what he what he learned throughout that program has been helpful parents the burden that people have now it's so different than what it was 20 30 years ago when uh it was possible to have a summer job and pay for college and even graduate school a burden that's been brought back for millions of borrowers starting this week for NJ Spotlight News I'm Ted Goldberg