President Biden’s administration has canceled loans for 150,000 borrowers, expanding relief efforts amid ongoing challenges.
Washington: President Biden’s latest move has canceled loans for another 150,000 borrowers. This is part of a broader effort to help those who were misled by their colleges.
Even though Biden hasn’t delivered on his promise for widespread student loan forgiveness, he’s still managed to cancel loans for over 5 million Americans. That’s a record for any U.S. president!
On Monday, the Education Department announced the cancellation of these loans, which were part of existing programs before Biden took office. His team has really pushed to expand these programs, especially after the Supreme Court shot down his new forgiveness plan.
Biden stated that his administration is taking significant steps to ease the burden of student debt and hold colleges accountable. So far, they’ve waived a whopping $183.6 billion in student loans.
However, with Donald Trump set to take office, there’s concern that this wave of cancellations might come to a halt. Trump has previously criticized loan cancellation, calling it unfair to taxpayers who didn’t attend college.
The recent relief mainly comes from a program that helps students who were cheated by their colleges. This program has been around since 1994 but saw more action during the Obama years due to scandals involving for-profit colleges.
Some of the loans canceled this time were for students from defunct colleges that misled them about job prospects. Before Biden, many borrowers struggled to get relief due to complicated rules, but his administration has made it easier to qualify.
For instance, only 7,000 borrowers had their loans canceled through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program before Biden took over. Now, over a million public servants have had their debts wiped out thanks to relaxed rules.
These changes were meant to complement Biden’s larger plan for student debt relief, which aimed to provide up to $20,000 for millions. But after the Supreme Court blocked that plan, the focus shifted to maximizing relief through existing programs.
As new cancellations became routine, Republicans in Congress accused Biden of overstepping his authority. With Trump returning to power, there’s uncertainty about how far his administration will go to reverse these changes.
Trump had previously suggested eliminating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and his team is likely to push for tighter rules on loan forgiveness. Some Republicans are already calling for a rollback of Biden’s changes.
