President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday the cancelation of another $7.7 billion in student debt for 160,500 borrowers, stepping up the efforts of his administration to chip away college debt and reduce the burden of educational expense on middle income households.
The latest announcement, also seen as BIden's efforts to gain support of young people ahead of the November presidential election, brings the total student loan forgiven by his administration to $167 billion, benefiting 4.75 million Americans.
Three categories of borrowers benefited from the cancellation. According to the press release of the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), these categories include those who received Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), those who signed up for the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, and those on income-driven repayment (IDR).
With the additional $7.7 billion loan canceled, "more than one out of every 10 federal student loan borrowers has now been approved for some debt relief," explained the USDE.
"The Biden-Harris Administration remains persistent about our efforts to bring student debt relief to millions more across the country," said Miguel Cardona, the USDE Secretary said.
There was a cancellation of debts of 66,900 borrowers amounting to $5.2 billion under the PSLF. About 39,200 enrolled in the IDR enjoyed $1.9 billion of canceled student loan. In addition, about 54,300 borrowers under the SAVE plan will enjoy loan forgiveness amounting to $5.2 billion.
An NYTimes report stated that a number of those whose student loans were forgiven have already started receiving notification emails, informing them of their debt cancellation approvals.
"From Day 1 of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity," Biden said in a statement.
This steady announcements of student loan being forgiven has actually been a pivotal point in the re-election pitch of Biden, where he would always give emphasis on what families hurdle just to overcome educational costs.
In addition to the actual student loan forgiveness, U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal, said there is another 160,000 borrowers and their families who would be receiving some relief, highlighting the "continued efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration to fix the broken student loan system."
One can recall that the Supreme Court struck down the sweeping plan of Biden to grant student loan forgiveness last summer. Because of this, the White House went on exploring the avenues where it will be able to utilize its power to forgive student loans. Such led to one area, where it could viably forgive student debts, and that would be through the USED's established but somewhat difficult to use student loan forgiveness options.
