The president on Wednesday announced a plan to forgive some federal student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year and other forms of relief
President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive up to $10,000 of federal student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year, $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, and an extension on loan payment deferments through January.
In a Wednesday announcement on Twitter, Biden stated that his plan is intended to give “working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023.”
The national student debt has surpassed $1.75 trillion, and advocates for debt forgiveness say the move by Biden is a drop in the bucket that doesn’t go far enough to address the structural pitfalls in higher education that are leading students to rely on loans for their degree, and increasing the long-term financial burden for lower income students.
Average tuition has risen by 169 percent in the last 40 years, according to data from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, and 70 perfects of American students now graduate with some amount of debt. Currently, federal student loans represent 92 percent of student debt.
In the wake of the pandemic, loan bearers have sought relief from the interest accruing payments during a time of financial uncertainty and high inflation. In response, both former President Trump and President Biden allowed borrowers to defer payments on their loans. With the announcement on Wednesday, Biden indicates that that grace period will end in January.
Biden is set to address the nation on the new debt relief plan at 2:15 PM (EST) on Wednesday.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated
Source: Rolling Stone
