Topline
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday he is canceling another $7.7 billion in student debt, the latest move in his signature relief targeting education debt that has faced fierce pushback from Republicans.
President Joe Biden announced another round of student debt relief on Wednesday.
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Key Facts
In a statement, Biden said the latest relief action will affect around 160,000 people and cancel over $35,000 of debt on average.
The president said the recipients of the debt relief are “public service workers like teachers, nurses, or law enforcement officials,” those enrolled in the White House’s SAVE plan, and borrowers approved under the “fixes we made to Income-Driven Repayment” plans.
Around $613 million of the debt forgiveness covers 54,300 people enrolled in the SAVE Plan—under which people who borrowed $12,000 or less are eligible for loan cancellation after 10 years of payments.
Another $1.9 billion in forgiveness will cover 39,200 people enrolled in older income-driven repayment plans and the remaining $5.2 billion relief will benefit 66,900 borrowers covered by the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
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Crucial Quote
“From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I will never stop working to cancel student debt – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,” Biden said.
Big Number
$167 billion. That is the total amount of student loan forgiveness enacted by the Biden administration, covering around 4.75 million Americans.
Surprising Fact
The Education Department said the SAVE Plan has helped “more than 8 million borrowers” so far, including 4.6 million people who have to make $0 in monthly payments.
Key Background
Student loan forgiveness was one of Biden’s tentpole policy promises during the 2020 election campaign and as president, he has canceled more student debt than any of his predecessors. After the Supreme Court struck down his flagship student debt relief plan last year, Biden has resorted to a more piecemeal approach by canceling loans in several smaller tranches. But even this latest effort is opposed by Republican-led states. In April, seven states—Missouri, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, Ohio and Oklahoma—filed a lawsuit challenging the SAVE plan. In March, 11 other GOP-led states— Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah—also filed a lawsuit challenging the repayment plan.
Further Reading
Biden Administration Proposes Sweeping Student Loan Forgiveness Rules: What To Know (Forbes)
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