You know the saying: never let a crisis go to waste. With House Republicans scrambling to overhaul their leadership after the ousting of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden decided to take advantage of the mayhem on the Hill and do some 2024 politicking. He announced that he is canceling the student debt of 125,000 individuals, totaling around $9 billion. Biden's past initiative was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (via CNBC):
The debt cancellation President Biden announced Wednesday affects 125,000 borrowers. It comes as millions of people with federal student loans are resuming payments on their debt this month after a three-year pause because of the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/q3wYhQLM1H pic.twitter.com/hnbuXanvHh
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 4, 2023
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he approved $9 billion in student loan forgiveness for 125,000 Americans.
The relief is a result of his administration’s fixes to a number of programs, including the income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
More than $5 billion of the aid will go to 53,000 borrowers who’ve worked in public service for a decade or more; $2.8 billion of the forgiveness is for 51,000 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans; and another $1.2 billion of the cancellation will go to 22,000 borrowers with disabilities.
The announcement is likely to help Biden as he runs for reelection, experts say.
“Biden has forgiven more student loan debt than any previous president,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. “It distinguishes him from other candidates who are campaigning for the nation’s highest office.”
JUST IN - Biden is canceling an additional $9 billion in student-loan debt after the Supreme Court blocked his debt-relief plan — Bloomberg
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 4, 2023
Before the House’s motion to vacate, which toppled McCarthy, there were stories about the horrors from those facing student loan debt as payments resume this week (via NBC News):
Tens of millions of Americans with federal student loan debt have had a financial reprieve for more than three years as a pandemic-era repayment pause was extended multiple times since March 2020.
Now many face a new reality on Sunday, Oct. 1, when they are due to resume making payments, all while struggling with nagging inflation and rising interest rates.
More than 45 million borrowers together owe approximately $1.6 trillion, according to President Joe Biden's administration, which tried to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of eligible borrowers, only to have the Supreme Court kill the program in June.
It’s debt. It doesn’t go away, folks. The responsible thing would have been to act as if you needed to make these payments, setting aside that money for when the inevitable day of reckoning returned. Biden and his staff know that he must do something or risk having a core Democratic voting bloc stay home, though young voters already do that unless your name is Barack Obama—and he’s not on the ballot.
Also, thanks for sticking us with that bill, Mr. President.
