WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Wednesday, December 6th, the White House announced that President Joe Biden has cancelled another $4.8 billion in student loan debt, bringing the total he has forgiven since taking office to $132 billion for more than 3.6 million borrowers.
The approvals were separated into two different categories; $2.2 billion for nearly 46,000 borrowers through fixes to the Income Driven Repayment (IDR); and $2.6 billion for 34,400 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plan.
According to the Daily Mail, Biden did this despite the United States Supreme Court striking down his plan to cancel $400 billion in student loan debt back in June 2023. Biden said, "In the wake of the Supreme Court decision on our student debt relief plan we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible."
CBS News reported that in a statement, Biden said, "From day one of my administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity, not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt." He added, "I won't back down from using every single tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams."
Republicans are fighting back, saying taxpayers should not be forced to pay the bill. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement, "The Biden administration's latest student debt transfer does not 'cancel' or 'forgive' a penny of student loan debt."
He added, "Instead, President Biden is once again asking hard-working taxpayers to foot the bill for the loans of well-off graduates. This is not only unfair, it is wrong."
Biden has cancelled more student debt than any other sitting president. According to the press release, in addition to the relief under IDR and PSLF, the Biden administration also approved $11.7. billion for nearly 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability and $22.5 billion for more than 1.3 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools.
In November, Biden told 813,000 Americans that he had wiped out their student loan debt. Those former students reportedly received an email from Biden notifying them of the cancellation. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, said in a statement, "The data released today once again make clear that the Biden-Harris administration's relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system are paying off in a big way, with more than 3.6 million borrowers now approved for nearly $132 billion in loan forgiveness."
He added, "This level of debt relief is unparalleled and we have no intention of slowing down." At the beginning of October, Biden canceled $9 billion in student debt for 125,000 borrowers. Biden's push to cancel student loan debt comes with less than a year until the presidential election, as he tries to get young people to vote for him.
According to CNBC, Republican nominees for president oppose student loan forgiveness, including former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie said that Biden did not have the authority to cancel student debt without prior authorization from Congress.
Former President Donald Trump sided with the Supreme Court when they ruled not in favor of Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. Back in June, Trump said, "Today, the Supreme Court also ruled that President Biden cannot wipe out hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of dollars, in student loan debt, which would have been very unfair to the millions and millions of people who paid their debt through hard work and diligence; very unfair."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that it is wrong to burden taxpayers with the cancellation of the student loan debt, adding, "Why should a truck driver have to pay for somebody that got a degree in zombie studies? It doesn't make sense."
The approvals were separated into two different categories; $2.2 billion for nearly 46,000 borrowers through fixes to the Income Driven Repayment (IDR); and $2.6 billion for 34,400 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) plan.
According to the Daily Mail, Biden did this despite the United States Supreme Court striking down his plan to cancel $400 billion in student loan debt back in June 2023. Biden said, "In the wake of the Supreme Court decision on our student debt relief plan we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible."
CBS News reported that in a statement, Biden said, "From day one of my administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity, not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt." He added, "I won't back down from using every single tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams."
Republicans are fighting back, saying taxpayers should not be forced to pay the bill. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement, "The Biden administration's latest student debt transfer does not 'cancel' or 'forgive' a penny of student loan debt."
He added, "Instead, President Biden is once again asking hard-working taxpayers to foot the bill for the loans of well-off graduates. This is not only unfair, it is wrong."
Biden has cancelled more student debt than any other sitting president. According to the press release, in addition to the relief under IDR and PSLF, the Biden administration also approved $11.7. billion for nearly 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability and $22.5 billion for more than 1.3 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools.
In November, Biden told 813,000 Americans that he had wiped out their student loan debt. Those former students reportedly received an email from Biden notifying them of the cancellation. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, said in a statement, "The data released today once again make clear that the Biden-Harris administration's relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system are paying off in a big way, with more than 3.6 million borrowers now approved for nearly $132 billion in loan forgiveness."
He added, "This level of debt relief is unparalleled and we have no intention of slowing down." At the beginning of October, Biden canceled $9 billion in student debt for 125,000 borrowers. Biden's push to cancel student loan debt comes with less than a year until the presidential election, as he tries to get young people to vote for him.
According to CNBC, Republican nominees for president oppose student loan forgiveness, including former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie said that Biden did not have the authority to cancel student debt without prior authorization from Congress.
Former President Donald Trump sided with the Supreme Court when they ruled not in favor of Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. Back in June, Trump said, "Today, the Supreme Court also ruled that President Biden cannot wipe out hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of dollars, in student loan debt, which would have been very unfair to the millions and millions of people who paid their debt through hard work and diligence; very unfair."
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that it is wrong to burden taxpayers with the cancellation of the student loan debt, adding, "Why should a truck driver have to pay for somebody that got a degree in zombie studies? It doesn't make sense."
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