President Biden announced on August 24 that most university graduates still trying to pay off student loans would receive $10,000 in relief.
President Biden announced on August 24 that most university graduates still trying to pay off student loans would receive $10,000 in relief.
US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that most university graduates still trying to pay off student loans will receive $10,000 in relief, addressing a decades-long headache of rampant educational debt nationwide. .
“In keeping with my campaign promise, my administration is announcing plans to give working and middle-class families breathing space,” Mr Biden continued less than three months before midterm congressional elections. said in a statement, where the issue is seen as one. Vote winner for Democrats.
The proposed debt relief falls far short of some Democrats’ goal of achieving a full pardon, but is opposed by Republicans who argue that shaving off any amount from graduates’ loans is unfair to those who have lost their own lives. Have saved years to pay off the loan.
American colleges can often cost anywhere between $10,000 and $70,000 per year, leaving graduates with crushing debt as they enter the workforce. According to government estimates, the average debt upon graduation for American college students is $25,000, an amount that takes years or even decades to pay off.
In total, about 45 million borrowers nationwide are collectively owed $1.6 trillion, according to the White House.
Under the relief plan, $10,000 will be deducted from all debts of people earning less than $125,000. For alumni who went to university with need-based government aid known as a Pell Grant, the relief would be $20,000.
Meanwhile, the moratorium on loan repayments, set up during the COVID pandemic, will be extended till the end of the year with installments resuming on December 31.
The plan was announced after months of deliberations at the White House on how to thread the needle on an issue that has consistently plagued the administration. Among the concerns is that the program will fuel the already rampant inflation in the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown and subsequent economic recovery.
But Mr Biden has for months been under heavy pressure to act from senior Senate Democrats, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and lawmakers on the party’s left.
“With the flick of a pen, President Biden has taken a major step forward in addressing the student loan crisis by canceling significant amounts of student loans for millions of borrowers. The positive effects of this move will be felt by families across the country.” , especially in minority communities,” Schumer and prominent Liberal Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a joint statement.
Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel called the plan a “relief for the rich.” As hardworking Americans struggle with rising costs and a recession, Biden is giving the rich a handout.
“Biden’s bailout unfairly punishes Americans who saved for college or made a different career choice, and voters see right through this short-sighted, poorly hidden vote-buying,” she said.