Washington, Oct 4 (EFE).- President Joe Biden’s administration announced Wednesday that it will condone student debt for 125,000 people across the United States for $9 billion.
The new measure, which comes a month after the restart of student debt payments, temporarily suspended due to the pandemic, was announced by the White House as a step to “fix the student loan system.”
The Biden administration today approved debt forgiveness for 55,000 people enrolled in the public service program, about 51,000 in income-adjusted repayment plans, and another 22,000 people with total or permanent disabilities, the White House said in a statement.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Biden celebrated the measure as “progress” in easing the economic burden on the middle class.
“I promised you that my administration would continue to use every tool at our disposal to ease the burden of student debt so that more Americans can have the freedom to pursue their dreams,” the president wrote.
Today is the start of a series of actions the Democratic Executive has taken to address school debt after the Supreme Court struck down a $400 billion student debt forgiveness macro plan in late June that would have canceled up to $20,000 in loans.
The Republican Party, which sharply criticized the thwarted debt forgiveness plan, also rejected the actions announced today, calling them a “desperate drive” by Biden to “garner votes.”
“Biden is trying to save face by canceling the debt of a few,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel stressed in a statement.
Although the Supreme Court thwarted his initial plans, Biden has canceled the student debt of more than 3.6 million people since he arrived at the White House in January 2021, worth $127 billion, according to government data. EFE
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