President Joe Biden has unveiled an additional $7.7 billion in student loans that will be forgiven, with beneficiaries seeing an average of $35,000 in debt relief.
“Today, my administration is cancelling student debt for 160,000 more people, bringing the total number of Americans who have benefitted from our debt relief actions to 4.75 million,” Biden announced in a prepared statement.
This latest round of debt cancellation targets borrowers enrolled in the Department of Education’s new SAVE Plan, public service employees including teachers, nurses, and police officers, as well as individuals who had loans nullified due to what the administration describes as “fixes” to existing income-driven repayment schemes.
This is one of several initiatives Biden has undertaken to address student loan debt ahead of the 2024 election. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the cumulative cost to taxpayers could be as much as $1.4 trillion, with Republican-led states filing lawsuits arguing that the president lacks the legal authority to allocate funds without congressional approval.
Biden, however, views these measures as a boon for younger, college-educated voters, a key demographic in his reelection campaign. He believes that canceling student loans will enable these individuals to purchase homes, start businesses, or raise families.
“Last month, I laid out my administration’s new plans that would cancel student debt for more than 30 million Americans when combined with everything we’ve done so far,” he said.
“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,” Biden added. “I will never stop working to cancel student debt — no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.”
