President Biden signed yet another student loan forgiveness package on Friday, giving $4.28 billion to about 55,000 public servants.
The Department of Education has canceled loans for students who have made more than 120 monthly repayments as part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which encourages employment in public sector jobs such as teaching and law enforcement.
“From day one in office, we promised that higher education would be a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement.
“Thanks to our actions, millions of people across the country are able to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they put on hold due to the weight of student loan debt. I was able to afford it.”
Mr. Biden, 82, is on a mission to avoid the Supreme Court striking down his original plan to eliminate $430 billion in student debt through a 2003 law targeting veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first comprehensive plan, announced in August 2022, would provide up to $20,000 for borrowers with Pell Grants and up to $20,000 for single Americans with annual incomes of $125,000 or less and households with annual incomes of $250,000 or less. He was to be given $10,000.
In response to the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, Biden said, “Today's ruling closes one path,'' and “From now on, a new path begins.''
He immediately announced he would try other steps to fulfill his pledge, launching a cancellation effort worth up to $475 billion, which was later blocked by a federal court.
The latest measures bring Biden's total student debt relief stimulus payments to nearly $180 billion, but Republicans in Congress say the amount is an election-year “ruse” and that workers who have never earned a higher education degree They claim to have been rewarded by class Americans.
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited key 2024 battleground states to tout student loan forgiveness.
The push to cancel comes after the president's chief of staff vowed that further student loan cancellation would be a focus in President-elect Donald Trump's final weeks before taking office.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the gift “relentlessly and unapologetically ensures that we have leaders like President Biden and Vice President Harris to ensure that our government serves the people we work with every day.” It's proof of what's possible if you put your mind to it.”
