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Have $20,000 in credit card debt? Here’s how much a forgiveness plan could cover.

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A credit card debt forgiveness program can significantly help reduce your outstanding balance.

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If you’re suffering from unmanageable credit card debt you’re not alone. Right now, the average American has around $8,000 in credit card debt. And many are coping with high credit card interest rates in addition to that debt. With the average credit card rate near 23% currently, the interest alone can easily make paying back what you owe difficult, if not impossible. That’s partially why credit card debt recently hit a record $1.4 trillion nationwide.

Fortunately, borrowers have multiple debt relief options available. They just need to know where to look to determine which can provide the most help right now. For many, that involves turning to credit card debt forgiveness via a debt relief company. For qualified borrowers, credit card forgiveness can be the difference between regaining your financial freedom and staying mired in debt. Since most servicers require a minimum of $7,500 in debt, this type of debt relief is often best reserved for those who owe that amount or more. For borrowers with $20,000 in debt, it can provide substantial assistance. Before getting started, however, it’s critical to know how much, exactly, a forgiveness plan could cover. That’s what we’ll break down below.

Start tackling your credit card debt here now.

How much of a $20,000 credit card debt will a forgiveness plan cover?

If you were hoping for a credit card forgiveness program to cover your full, outstanding $20,000 debt, you’d be mistaken. Credit card debt forgiveness doesn’t simply wipe the slate clean. If you want that you’ll need to turn to bankruptcy and the inevitable credit score damage that will result from it. But if you want to tackle your debt and get at least some portion of it erased, a forgiveness plan can help. Most providers will cover between 30% to 50% of your outstanding balance, assuming you meet the qualifications for that assistance. 

With a $20,000 balance, you can potentially settle for an amount between $6,000 and $10,000. Your balance won’t just drop to zero. And it will take time to get this debt forgiven (two to four years on average). But if you get started now and closely follow the steps outlined by your debt relief provider, you can make a significant dent in what you owe. 

Get started with credit card debt forgiveness online today.

How to qualify for credit card debt forgiveness

Simply owing a five-figure credit card debt sum won’t automatically qualify you for forgiveness. You’ll also need to clearly demonstrate a financial hardship that’s preventing you from making the payments as agreed upon (and you’ll need to have documentation to support this position). It may seem contradictory, but it also helps if you’ve been behind on payments already. If you haven’t been and are still paying on time each month (even with minimum payments), that shows lenders that you can repay what you owe, albeit on a slower schedule. And there may be other qualifications specific to the debt forgiveness servicer in question, so be sure to clearly understand each one’s eligibility requirements before signing up for their program.

The bottom line

A $20,000 credit card debt balance can be greatly reduced with the use of a forgiveness program but it won’t be eliminated in its entirety. Still, even a 30% to 50% reduction can help, particularly when dealing with a five-figure debt in today’s high interest rate climate. Just understand that while not as damaging as bankruptcy, a forgiveness plan could hurt your credit score. But if the alternative is to let this debt pile higher, that may be worth it for some borrowers.

Have more debt relief questions? Learn more here now.



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House conservatives revolt over GOP-backed spending bill to avoid shutdown

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Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing a conservative revolt over a last-minute measure to keep the government funded into the spring and avoid a shutdown, with some Republicans strongly objecting to billions of dollars in spending that has been added to the bill.

Congressional leaders unveiled the stopgap funding measure late Tuesday after days of negotiations, facing a Friday deadline to approve new spending. The bill would extend government funding through March 14, but it also includes disaster aid, health care policy extenders and a pay raise for members of Congress, among other provisions. The disaster relief portion of the bill alone carries a price tag of $110 billion.

The legislation immediately sparked anger from multiple members of the House Republican conference, mostly targeted at Johnson. While the speaker had pledged to avoid the kind of massive, end-of-year spending bills that conservatives loathe, the final product resembled a scaled-down version of what the party’s right flank has railed against for years now.

But the Republicans’ slim majority in the House means Johnson will need Democratic votes to pass the bill, a dynamic that gave the minority more leverage to extract concessions during negotiations.

Johnson acknowledged that the bill was intended to be “very skinny” before a “couple of intervening things” occurred, citing the devastation left by hurricanes earlier this year. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson arrives at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 17, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
House Speaker Mike Johnson arrives at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 17, 2024, in Washington, D.C. 

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Before the text of the bill was released, Johnson dismissed Republican concerns that the continuing resolution was equivalent to an “omnibus” bill, a term used when Congress packages the annual appropriations bills that fund many federal government agencies into one large piece of legislation.

“This is not an omnibus, OK?” Johnson said at his weekly news conference on Tuesday. “This is a small [continuing resolution] that we had to add things to that were out of our control. These are not man-made disasters. These are things that the federal government has an appropriate role to do.” 

Further angering conservatives was Johnson’s vow to give members 72 hours to read the bill before a vote. But a vote could come as soon as Wednesday, giving lawmakers less than 24 hours to get through the nearly 1,550-page text. 

Rep. Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, on Tuesday called the process “a total dumpster fire.” He said he was “disappointed” in Johnson and called on him to “communicate better.” Other members, like Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, have dubbed the bill the “Cramnibus.”

The fight could prompt a challenge to Johnson’s speakership when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said Wednesday that he won’t support Johnson in the speaker’s election.

“I’m not voting for him,” Massie said. “This solidifies it.” 

Massie said he’s spoken with other members who have a similar stance. 

Johnson has run into a buzzsaw of opposition outside the House as well. Elon Musk, the co-head of President-elect Donald Trump’s advisory Department of Government Efficiency, said in a post on X that any lawmaker “who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years.” Musk posted dozens of times throughout the day calling for lawmakers to oppose the bill, which he called “criminal.”

The speaker told Fox News earlier in the day that he had discussed the situation with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the other DOGE co-head, on Tuesday evening. Johnson said he emphasized to them that passing a continuing resolution now would be “clearing the decks” and allow the incoming GOP majorities to “put our fingerprints on the spending” in March. Both Musk and Ramaswamy came out strongly against the bill anyway.

Trump himself has not indicated publicly how he thinks lawmakers should vote, leaving Republicans in Congress to fight amongst themselves.

While Johnson said he and GOP leaders had hoped to move forward with the legislation under the regular process, including bringing the bill through the House Rules Committee, pushback from committee members on the party’s right flank threatened to prolong the path to passage. The legislation is expected to instead be brought up under suspension of the rules, meaning a two-thirds majority will be required for passage.

The stopgap measure will lapse about two months into Trump’s second term, setting up another budget fight as Republicans try to pass Trump’s top priorities during his first 100 days. Though they’ll have control of both chambers of Congress, House Republicans will be operating with a thinner majority until vacant seats held by members joining the Trump administration are filled. 

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Biden comments on dangers of mysterious drones in U.S.

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Biden comments on dangers of mysterious drones in U.S. – CBS News


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President Biden says there doesn’t appear to be anything nefarious behind the mysterious drones sighted in New Jersey and other states. CBS News’ Tom Hanson breaks down what remains unknown about the aircraft.

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Paris Hilton’s bill to protect minors at residential treatment facilities heads to president’s desk

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Heiress, model and actor Paris Hilton is the force behind a bill headed to President Biden’s desk that’s aimed at preventing the abuse of minors at rehab and other residential facilities. 

The House passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act in a bipartisan 373-33 vote Wednesday, after the Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent earlier in the week. It’s a cause that’s personal to Hilton, who says she was abused at residential treatment facilities as a teen. Hilton lived in a series of residential treatment facilities from the age of 16, testifying before Congress in June that she had been violently restrained, stripped of clothing and tossed into solitary confinement, among other experiences. 

“Today is a day I will never forget,” Hilton wrote on Instagram. “After years of sharing my story and advocating on Capitol Hill, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act has officially passed the U.S Congress. This moment is proof that our voices matter, that speaking out can spark change, and that no child should ever endure the horrors of abuse in silence. I did this for the younger version of myself and the youth who were senselessly taken from us by the Troubled Teen Industry.”

Now 43, Hilton has championed child protection legislation on Capitol Hill for years, encouraging lawmakers to pass regulations to help protect troubled teens from abuse at treatment centers. Hilton met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week, urging them to take up the legislation before the 118th Congress ends.

Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna introduced the legislation in the House and Senate, and they were joined by Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Tommy Tuberville and Republican Rep. Buddy Carter. 

“Children across the country are at risk of abuse and neglect due to a lack of transparency in institutional youth treatment programs,” Khanna said in a statement. “The industry has gone unchecked for too long. Paris Hilton and other survivors of abuse in this broken system have bravely shared their stories and inspired change. I’m proud to lead this legislation with my colleagues to protect the safety and well-being of kids.”

The legislation creates a federal work group on youth residential programs to oversee the health, safety, care, treatment and placement of minors in rehab and other facilities. It also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to make contact with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to make recommendations about state oversight of such programs. 

Hilton is the great-grandaughter of Conrad Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels. 



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