President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he will cancel up to $10,000 in student debt for Americans earning less than $125,000 per year (or $250,000 for couples filing jointly). Borrowers who received Pell Grants can receive up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness.
Biden also announced an extensions of the current pause on student loan payments for an additional four months, through Dec. 31.
“The cost of education beyond higher school has gone up significantly,” said Biden. “An entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for an attempt, at least, at a college degree. The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate, you may not have access to the middle-class life that the college degree once provided.”
The announcement comes after months of deliberation. Biden’s student debt cancellation doesn’t nothing to address on a long term basis the high cost of higher education that he spoke about in his announcement, and his plan is expected to face legal challenges by Republicans who consider it a costly handout.
Already, Republicans are arguing that the loan forgiveness program will managed by an “understaffed and overcommitted” Department of Education that lacks accurate income data for most of the 43 million Americans eligible for forgiveness.
Already, Republicans are arguing that the loan forgiveness program will managed by an “understaffed and overcommitted” Department of Education that lacks accurate income data for most of the 43 million Americans eligible for forgiveness.