The White House announced Wednesday that it had forgiven $1.2 billion in student loans for more than 150,000 borrowers in the Biden administration’s latest push to fulfill a key campaign promise.
While President Joe Biden courted many voters with a pledge to forgive all or some debt for millions of debtors, his failure to deliver that forgiveness has frustrated many of his voters.
A plan to cancel up to $20,000 for millions of borrowers under a certain income threshold who received PELL grants and $10,000 for those who did not was shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer when it was found Biden did not have the power to unilaterally cancel the debt.
Since then, the White House has taken more limited measures to forgive debts for certain segments of borrowers.
In a Wednesday announcement, the White House released a fact sheet that stated almost 153,000 people would soon find their balances cleared out.
These include people who owe less than $12,000 in total and who have been repaying the loans for at least a decade.
Since taking office, @POTUS vowed to fix the student loan system, ensuring higher education is a bridge, not a barrier. Thanks to the SAVE repayment plan, borrowers with $12,000 in student debt and who have been in repayment for 10 years will qualify for forgiveness.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) February 21, 2024
Those who are eligible must be enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education, or “SAVE” plan, for paying back debts.
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“Today, President Biden announced the approval of $1.2 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 153,000 borrowers currently enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan,” the White House said in a statement.
The statement continued:
“The Biden-Harris Administration has now approved nearly $138 billion in student debt cancellation for almost 3.9 million borrowers through more than two dozen executive actions. The borrowers receiving relief are the first to benefit from a SAVE plan policy that provides debt forgiveness to borrowers who have been in repayment after as little as 10 years and took out $12,000 or less in student loans.
“Originally planned for July, the Biden-Harris Administration implemented this provision of SAVE and is providing relief to borrowers nearly six months ahead of schedule.”
The Biden administration tried to tie the latest round of loan forgiveness to the upcoming 2024 election.
The announcement from the West Wing bragged Biden had canceled “more student debt than any President in history” and said it had offered “lifechanging relief to students and families.”
The White House then attacked Republicans.
“While Republicans in Congress and their allies try to block President Biden every step of the way, the Biden-Harris Administration continues to cancel student debt for millions of borrowers, and is leaving no stone unturned in the fight to give more borrowers breathing room on their student loans,” the Biden administration’s fact sheet said.
A number of high-profile GOP lawmakers immediately criticized Biden for sidestepping the Supreme Court:
The Biden administration is trying to cancel $1.2 billion in student loan debt.
Yet another move that circumvents the Supreme Court’s authority and harms American taxpayers.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 21, 2024
Taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for a billion dollar student loan bailout.
Biden must end his socialist schemes and focus on helping families and students understand the true cost of college!https://t.co/zGltcL81nx
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) February 21, 2024
Biden’s student loan redistribution scheme will use another $1.2 billion of YOUR tax dollars to “cancel” student loan debt for over 150,000 borrowers.
This is a slap in the face to responsible Americans who know when you take out a loan, YOU PAY IT BACK!https://t.co/Fm8QpIIUdM
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) February 21, 2024
The White House vowed it would continue to forgive debts through similar measures in the future.
Starting today, the first round of folks who are enrolled in our SAVE student loan repayment plan who have paid their loans for 10 years and borrowed $12,000 or less will have their debt cancelled.
That’s 150,000 Americans and counting.
And we’re pushing to relieve more.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 21, 2024
The administration also said it would hold schools “accountable for leaving students with unaffordable debts.”
