Departing President Joe Biden’s administration is nothing if not busy as desks are cleaned out and preparations for final departure made. On Friday it was announced federal student loans for another 55,000 workers will be canceled through an existing program known as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Biden has now canceled an unprecedented $180 billion in federal student loans through existing programs during his term in office, covering 4.9 million Americans.
The total cost for Biden’s latest act of Christmas charity will come in at $4.28 billion, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers, the bulk of whom previously questioned just how fair such acts are when workers are left to fund the munificence.
Half of Americans agree that Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt is not fair to those who did not attend college, a poll from The Economist/YouGov found. https://t.co/ZMKnWfAPmb
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 5, 2022
AP reports the Education Department’s announcement targets teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials and others who’ve reached eligibility through the program, which promises to erase loans after 10 years of work in government or nonprofit jobs. the AP report delivers the numbers involved – both in recipients and dollars:
Under Biden, the Education Department loosened the rules for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which previously had a 99% rejection rate amid burdensome rules and widespread confusion over eligibility requirements.
With the latest round of relief, Biden has now canceled an unprecedented $180 billion in federal student loans through existing programs, covering 4.9 million Americans. That includes $78 billion for roughly 1 million borrowers through PSLF.
“From Day One of my Administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement confirming the move.
“Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt.”
President-elect Donald Trump is not so enamoured with student loan forgiveness, stating his opposition clearly in the past.
Trump characterized Biden’s student loan program as a “money grab” that forces Americans to bail out “college administrators.” https://t.co/5SMaZqU7tY
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) August 26, 2022
Trump also used the campaign trail in 2024 to call Biden’s cancellation plans illegal and “vile.”
Republicans in Congress have slammed Biden over his cancellation work, saying it unfairly transfers the burden to taxpayers who didn’t go to college or already repaid their loans.
