(BrightPress.org) – On Wednesday, May 22nd, the Biden administration announced an additional $7.7 billion in student debt cancellation. This round of relief is expected to impact 160,500 borrowers already enrolled in pre-existing programs such as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans.
The Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden’s initial far-reaching student debt relief plan in June. Since then the Biden administration has continued to push debt relief efforts through existing programs.
Debt relief for student loan borrowers is at the top of the list of voter concerns and has become one of the most controversial political topics. Republicans have opposed student debt relief declaring it to be unfair to those who have already paid back their college debt and to those that never attended college.
Many Democrats blame Biden for not achieving the sweeping debt relief that was promised during his 2020 presidential campaign. Many of these voters also question Biden’s foreign policies concerning the war in Gaza. Providing more student debt relief at this juncture could help Biden win their favor. Trump has criticized student loan cancellation as a “bailout” that was done “without a single act of Congress.”
This most recent wave of relief brings the total of loan forgiveness approved by the Biden administration to $167 billion for 4.75 million people. Biden has promised he will “never stop working to cancel student debt” even in the face of Republican opposition. He said he intends to keep his promise to make higher education “a ticket to the middle class” instead of a “barrier to opportunity.”
About half of Americans believe college is only worth the investment if you don’t have to go into debt. A MassMutual survey found that only one in five Gen Z graduates believe their diploma was worth the money.
Borrowers who qualify for the latest relief will receive an email before debt cancellation is processed within a “few weeks.”
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