In a momentous announcement on Wednesday, President Joe Biden revealed that an additional 125,000 individuals have received approval for student debt relief, totaling an impressive $9 billion. This latest decision elevates the cumulative debt cancellation achieved during his administration to a staggering $127 billion, benefiting nearly 3.6 million Americans, according to an official statement released by the White House.
The newly approved relief encompasses a wide spectrum of borrowers, comprising $5.2 billion allocated to 53,000 participants in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs. An additional $2.8 billion will provide reprieve for almost 51,000 borrowers through enhancements to income-driven repayment plans. Furthermore, $1.2 billion has been allocated to support almost 22,000 borrowers with total or permanent disabilities.
During his address, President Biden asserted that his administration’s commitment to alleviating student debt is far from complete, emphasizing, “My administration is doing everything we can to deliver student debt relief for as many as we can, as fast as we can.”
Biden proceeded to highlight the exorbitant cost of higher education in the United States, stating, “While a college degree is still the ticket toward a better life, that ticket has become excessively expensive. Americans who are saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for a college degree has become the norm.”
The President also took the opportunity to criticize the conservative-majority Supreme Court’s recent 6-3 decision, which rejected his administration’s ambitious $430 billion student debt forgiveness plan for 40 million borrowers. He lamented, “Republican-elected officials and special interests stepped up and sued us, and the Supreme Court sided with them, snatching from the hands of millions of Americans thousands of dollars of student debt relief that was about to change their lives.”
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona lauded Biden’s decision, affirming, “The Biden-Harris administration’s laser-like focus on reducing red tape, addressing past administrative failures, and putting borrowers first have now resulted in a historic $127 billion in debt relief approved for nearly 3.6 million borrowers.” He added that this announcement builds upon previous efforts to make higher education more affordable and beneficial for students and working families.
In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier in the year, the Biden administration introduced the “Saving on a Valuable Education” (Save) plan, which will fully come into effect next July. This initiative raises the income exception from 150% to 225% of the poverty line, halves payments on undergraduate loans, and ensures that borrowers “never see their balance grow as long as they keep up with their required payments,” as stated by the education department.
This latest development marks a substantial step forward in the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to address the pressing issue of student loan debt in the United States.
