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Biden forgives another $7.7 billion in student loans for 160,000 Americans to bring total to $167 billion wiped
The Biden administration announced it has 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 push by the president to wipe out student loan debt for millions of student loan borrowers.
Some have hailed the effort for providing relief to those burdened by ballooning debt, but it has also drawn strong condemnation from others who have called wiping student loan debt unfair and accuse Biden of attempting to 'buy votes' ahead of the 2024 election.
160,500 borrowers were approved for debt forgiveness on Wednesday bringing the total number of Americans who have seen their student loan debt canceled to 4.75 million.
President Biden giving remarks on student loan debt relief in Madison, WI on April 8, 2024
The new round of debt cancelation includes those who have received Public Service Loan Forgiveness, signed up for Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan and are eligible for its shortened time-to-forgiveness benefit and some have debt wiped thanks to changes to the income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.
According to the Biden administration, more than one out of every ten federal student loan borrowers have been approved for some debt relief.
'The Biden-Harris Administration remains persistent about our efforts to bring student debt relief to millions more across the country, and this announcement proves it,' said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement.
'One out of every 10 federal student loan borrowers approved for debt relief means one out of every 10 borrowers now has financial breathing room and a burden lifted,' he added.
Student demonstrators outside the Supreme Court on June 30, 2023. The Supreme Court last year blocked President Biden's original student loan debt relief plan
The Biden administration has been steadily canceling debt despite the Supreme Court blocking its original plan to cancel student loan debt nearly a year ago.
After the first effort was blocked, the administration shifted its approach to go through a more lengthy rule-making process.
Last summer, Biden announced the income-driven SAVE plan. More than eight million borrowers have been given relief through the plan to date including 4.6 million who have $0 monthly payments.
But more than a dozen Republican state Attorneys General have signed on to lawsuits in an attempt to block the Biden administration's latest effort.
They have accused the administration of transferring the burden of the 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 the SAVE plan would cost $156 billion over a decade. The Congressional Budget Office said the figure is closer to $230 billion.
Borrowers who will have their debt wiped under Wednesday's round of student loan forgiveness will receive emails informing them that they have been approved.
The Education Department said the cancellations will be processed in the following weeks.