Biden's massive bid to wipe student loan debt for 30 MILLION Americans: President plans to cancel unpaid interest for 23 million borrowers and erase all costs for four million who have been paying for 20 years

The Biden administration unveiled its latest effort to cancel millions in student loan debt which the White House believes would bring relief to as many as 30 million borrowers.

The effort comes after President Biden's first plan for widespread student loan debt forgiveness was blocked by the Supreme Court last year.

Since then, the administration has still managed to cancel around $146 billion in debt despite the threat of legal challenges. 

After the original plan was struck down, the Biden administration started looking at other ways to cancel debt through the rulemaking process. Monday's new proposals are the result of those efforts.

'From day one, my administration has been committed to fixing the broken student loan system and making sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier,' Biden said in a video posted online Monday.

'In total, these plans will cancel some or all student debt for 30 million Americans when combined with everything we've done so far,' he said.

Biden speaking in California in February after the White House announced the cancellation of $1.2 billion in student loan debt under the SAVE plan

The new plans would cancel up to $20,000 in unpaid interest for borrowers who currently owe more on their loans than they originally borrowed.

The interest cancelation would impact single borrowers who earn $120,000 or less and married borrowers who earn $240,000 or less and would be automatically carried out without borrowers having to apply.

The plans would also cancel debt for two million borrowers who would have qualified for other forgiveness programs but have not yet applied. 

Additionally, undergraduate borrowers who entered into repayment 20 or more years ago, graduate student borrowers who began repayment 25 or more years ago, borrowers who have been enrolled in low-financial-value programs and those have have faced financial hardship paying back loans would also see relief. 

According to the Biden administration, the plans would fully eliminate accrued interest for 23 million borrowers, cancel the full amount of student loan debt for more than four million borrowers and provide more than 10 million borrowers with at least $5,000 in debt relief or more.

The administration will be releasing the plans over the coming months which will then face a public comment period. Senior administration officials said the goal is to start delivering relief this fall. 

'President Biden will use every tool available to cancel student loan debt for as many borrowers as possible no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stand in his way,'  White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a call to reporters. 

Administration officials are fanning out across the country on Monday to promote the latest efforts. President Biden will outline the new plans on Monday during a visit to Madison, Wisconsin.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will also promote the new proposals during a visit to New York, Vice President Harris will travel to Philadelphia and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will highlight the effort in Phoenix, AZ. 

The Biden administration has canceled $146 billion in student loan debt despite the Supreme Court blocking the president's first student loan forgiveness plan

Last June, the Supreme Court blocked the president's original $400 billion plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers making less than $125,000 a year.

But the Biden administration said they were not done with their fight to bring relief to millions of borrowers. 

Senior administration officials said they studied the Supreme Court's 2023 decision carefully and pursued the new regulations in a way that is consistent with that decision.

The new plans are a part of the regulatory process that started last summer and are being carried out under the Education Secretary's authority in the Higher Education Act.

'This isn't the same plan, and we feel confident going forward,' a senior administration official said.  

Monday's announcement for additional student loan debt cancelation builds on other efforts the Biden administration has already taken since the first plan was blocked. 

To date, the Biden administration has already canceled $146 billion in student loan debt for four million borrowers through changes to multiple programs including the Income Driven Repayment plan and fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Just months after the highest court blocked Biden's first student debt plan, the administration also launched the Saving on a Valuable Education or SAVE plan.

The SAVE plan is an income drive repayment plan that cuts down on the amount to time and money some borrowers have to pay before their student loan debt is forgiven.

In February, the administration began canceling billions in debt under the SAVE plan including $1.2 billion for 153,000 borrowers. 

The White House said more than 7.7 million borrowers have enrolled in the plan and were encouraging millions more to do so. 

The Education Department said it would continue to identify borrowers who qualify for their debt to be forgiven on a continuing basis.

Critics of the White House efforts argue canceling student loan debt is unfair and a burden on taxpayers who chose not to get expensive college educations or take out massive student loans.

Republicans have also accused the White House of attempting to curry favor with young voters ahead of the November election by canceling their student loan debt.

As the Biden administration launches its latest student loan forgiveness effort, the SAVE program is already facing a legal challenge. 

On March 28, 11 states led by Kansas filed a federal lawsuit in an effort to block the forgiveness program. The lawsuit argued that the effort is no different than the first attempt by the president to wipe out student loan debt which was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Kansas Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach vowed to take the case all the way back to the Supreme Court if necessary. 

Along with Kansas, the suit is backed by Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.  

Last June, the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration had overstepped its authority with its original plan which relied on the HEROES Act, a law that authorizes the Education Secretary to waive or modify federal student loans due to a national emergency. 

The same day it was blocked, Biden said the administration would pursue debt forgiveness through a different legal authority in the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Senior administration officials said they are not concerned the move to cancel millions in student loan debt would have an inflationary effect based on analysis by the Council of Economic Advisers. 

They argued the move would have a positive effect on economic growth and the economic mobility of American families.

More than 43 million Americans carry more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt.