President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced his debt forgiveness plan after months of pressure from Democrats, CNN reports.
Biden on Wednesday announced that he will extend the student debt payment freeze until the end of the year and provide relief to millions of borrowers.
"In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023," he said.
Under the plan, borrowers who earn less than $125,000 per year will have up to $10,000 forgiven.
Borrowers who received Pell grants will receive up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness.
Details:
The Department of Education is expected to announce details on how borrowers can claim the relief in the “coming weeks,” according to CNN.
Millions of borrowers will be automatically eligible based on their income.
Democrats had pushed Biden to announce the debt forgiveness plan, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren urging him to cancel up to $50,000 per borrower.
Schumer and Warren said in a joint statement that the decision is "a giant step forward in addressing the student debt crisis."
"The positive impacts of this move will be felt by families across the country, particularly in minority communities, and is the single most effective action that the President can take on his own to help working families and the economy," they added.
GOP slams:
Republicans slammed Biden’s plan.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the plan is "yet another way to make inflation even worse" and "reward far-left activists."
"President Biden's student loan socialism is a slap in the face to every family who sacrificed to save for college, every graduate who paid their debt, and every American who chose a certain career path or volunteered to serve in our Armed Forces in order to avoid taking on debt," he said. "This policy is astonishingly unfair."
