“The Education Department left out the borrowers most harmed by past failures: borrowers who, unable to access an affordable payment option, went into default,” said Abby Shafroth, director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project. “This oversight significantly reduces the number of borrowers who will receive immediate loan forgiveness through today’s action, as over 2 million of the 4.4 million borrowers who have been in repayment for over 20 years are in default.”