The Biden administration announced on Friday that it will cancel $7.4 billion in student debt for 277,000 borrowers, continuing its efforts to ease the burden of student loans in the United States.
This announcement comes as President Joe Biden aims to gain support from young voters ahead of the upcoming November reelection campaign.
As part of Biden’s plan outlined earlier in the week, the administration aims to reduce student debt by forgiving up to $20,000 in accrued and capitalized interest for borrowers, regardless of their income.
This action is expected to eliminate all of that interest for about 23 million borrowers.
The latest round of debt relief targets specifically people enrolled in the SAVE Plan, as well as others in Income-Driven Repayment plans and those receiving Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Joe Biden plans to eliminate student loans (Ron Warner/Getty Images)
This follows a previous announcement in March, where $6 billion in student loans were forgiven for 78,000 borrowers.
Since taking office, the administration has approved a total of $153 billion in student debt relief for 4.3 million Americans.
However, this effort has faced criticism from Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, who argue that it exceeds the president’s authority and unfairly benefits certain groups of borrowers.
Despite ongoing debate, student loan forgiveness remains a significant issue for many young voters, especially as they evaluate Biden’s broader policies and economic approach.
With approximately half of federal student loan debt held by people with graduate degrees, these measures affect more than just undergraduate borrowers, highlighting the complexities surrounding student debt in the United States.
