The Biden administration announced it approved another $7.7 billion in student loan debt forgiveness, bringing the total debt borrowers have seen canceled since President Biden took office to $167 billion.
It is the latest step in an ongoing effort by the president to eliminate student loan debt for millions of student loan borrowers.
The effort to provide relief to those burdened by mounting debt has been praised by some, but it has also drawn strong condemnation from others who have called it unfair and aHe accuses Biden of trying to “buy votes” before the 2024 elections.
On Wednesday, 160,500 borrowers were approved for debt forgiveness, bringing the total number of Americans who have had their student loan debt canceled to 4.75 million.
President Biden delivers speech on student loan debt relief in Madison, WI on April 8, 2024
The new round of debt cancellation includes those who received public service loan forgiveness, enrolled in Biden’s Savings on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan and are eligible for its short-term forgiveness benefit, and some have eliminated their debt thanks to payment changes income-based (IDR) plan.
According to the Biden administration, more than one in ten federal student loan borrowers have been approved for some debt relief.
“The Biden-Harris administration remains persistent in our efforts to bring student debt relief to millions more across the country, and this announcement demonstrates it,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
“One in 10 federal student loan borrowers approved for debt relief means one in 10 borrowers now have financial respite and a burden lifted,” he added.
Student protesters outside the Supreme Court on June 30, 2023. Last year, the Supreme Court blocked President Biden’s original student loan debt relief plan.
The Biden administration has been steadily canceling debt even though the Supreme Court blocked its original plan to cancel student loan debt nearly a year ago.
After the first effort was blocked, the administration shifted its focus to going through a longer rulemaking process.
Last summer, Biden announced the income-driven SAVE plan. To date, more than eight million borrowers have received relief through the plan, including 4.6 million who have $0 monthly payments.
But more than a dozen Republican state attorneys general have signed lawsuits in an attempt to block the Biden administration’s latest effort.
They have accused the administration of shifting the burden of student loan debt to other taxpayers who did not choose to take out massive loans or receive expensive college degrees.
The Biden administration previously estimated that the SAVE plan would cost $156 billion over a decade. The Congressional Budget Office said the figure is closer to $230 billion.
Borrowers whose debts will be erased in Wednesday’s round of student loan forgiveness will receive emails letting them know they have been approved.
The Department of Education said cancellations will be processed in the coming weeks.