President Joe Biden’s plans to deliver widespread student debt relief were dealt a serious blow last year when the Supreme Court struck down his one-time student loan forgiveness program. But he has still managed to cancel more federal student loan debt than any other president.
As the November election gets closer, Biden’s team is eager to tout what he’s done to address student loan debt – with the administration recently sending congratulatory emails to 153,000 debt-relief recipients – even if his actions fall short of some Democrats’ expectations.
Since taking office, Biden’s administration has approved the cancellation of about $138 billion in federal student loans – wiping out debts for about 3.9 million borrowers – by using a number of existing programs that aim to offer debt relief for certain groups of struggling borrowers.
The amount Biden has canceled is equal to nearly 9% of the $1.6 trillion of federal student loan debt currently held by borrowers.
It’s about one-third of the amount of student loan debt that would have been canceled by his broad forgiveness program. About $430 billion would have been forgiven last year if the Supreme Court had allowed that program to take effect.
The Supreme Court ruled that the executive branch does not have the authority to implement Biden’s broad forgiveness program, which would have canceled up to $20,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year.
The one-time cancellation program would have benefited millions of people, but it drew some criticism because it would not have helped future borrowers or addressed the larger issue of the rising cost of college.
What Biden has been doing – before and after the Supreme Court ruling – is using existing student loan…
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