President Joe Biden outlined a new round of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday to address the 含羞草研究社渦nsustainable debt含羞草研究社� that borrowers accumulate to complete their college education.
The announcement comes as borrowers brace for after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and Biden tries to fulfill his campaign promises on debt relief as he runs for reelection.
The Democratic president含羞草研究社檚 latest step will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt through existing programs. In total, 3.6 million borrowers will have had $127 billion in debt wiped out since Biden took office.
含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e not done yet,含羞草研究社� Biden said in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
He pledged to help alleviate the burden of student debt while running for president, and he含羞草研究社檚 been under pressure to follow through even though was overturned by the conservative majority on .
Biden said the decision was responsible for 含羞草研究社渟natching from the hands of millions of Americans thousands of dollars of student debt relief that was about to change their lives.含羞草研究社�
He has been relying on a patchwork of different programs to chip away at debt, such as announced last year, which lowers payments by tying them to borrowers含羞草研究社� income.
含羞草研究社淢y administration is doing everything we can to deliver student debt relief to as many as we can, as fast as we can,含羞草研究社� Biden said.
含羞草研究社淲hile 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,含羞草研究社� he said.
Some of Biden含羞草研究社檚 efforts have involved bolstering existing programs, like .
含羞草研究社淔or years, millions of eligible borrowers were unable to access the student debt relief they qualified for, but that含羞草研究社檚 all changed thanks to President Biden and this administration含羞草研究社檚 relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system,含羞草研究社� Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
Additional debt forgiveness could help alleviate the impact of the long-scheduled this month, which will put a dent in tens of millions of family budgets. But it is unlikely to undermine the economy含羞草研究社檚 strength in the long term even though analysts at BNP Paribas estimated it could take $100 billion out of consumers含羞草研究社� pockets and slow overall growth during the final three months of this year.
Republicans have fought Biden含羞草研究社檚 plans on student debt, but Wednesday含羞草研究社檚 announcement comes as they含羞草研究社檙e on Capitol Hill. Hard-right Republicans forced a vote that ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker, leaving the chamber in chaos.
In addition, the NAACP is pushing Biden to expand debt forgiveness by allowing Parent PLUS loans, which parents use for their children含羞草研究社檚 college education, to be eligible for the SAVE Plan.
含羞草研究社淗istorically, education has been viewed as an entry point for marginalized communities to achieve upward mobility and begin building generational wealth,含羞草研究社� NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement that emphasized the disproportionate impact of debt on Black families. 含羞草研究社淚t is unconscionable that, in their quest to provide their children with a brighter future, Black parents have fallen victim to a system that preys on their inherent disadvantage.含羞草研究社�
Chris Megerian, The Associated Press
