The White House calculated that the measure should cancel $1.2 billion in debt.
United States Washington:
President Joe Biden, who was elected in 2020 in large part thanks to young voters, announced on Wednesday that he would extend the student loan forgiveness program and cancel the loans of an additional 150,000 Americans.
“While a college degree remains a ticket to a better life, that ticket is too expensive,” Biden said in a statement. “Too many Americans are still saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for a college degree.” .”
During his presidency, Biden has canceled a total of $138 billion in federal student loans taken out by 3.9 million Americans to pay for college education, according to the Biden administration.
“I’m excited to have these loans forgiven because when we forgive Americans’ student debt, they are free to pursue their dreams,” Biden added.
Initially, the 81-year-old Democrat had bigger ambitions, planning to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in debt from middle-class borrowers.
But the plan was blocked by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, leading the Biden administration to approve some milder measures as workarounds, the latest of which was announced on Wednesday.
Under the new plan, borrowers who have paid off their student loans for 10 years and borrowed $12,000 or less will have their remaining debt canceled.
The White House calculated that the measure should cancel $1.2 billion in debt and benefit 153,000 people, who would be informed of the good news through an email signed by the president.
Biden’s campaign has been touting his vast economic and social achievements to young Americans, but so far young voters have shown little enthusiasm for Biden’s return to the White House as he prepares to compete with the likely Republican nominee man, former President Donald Trump.
Following the announcement of the new debt relief measure, Biden’s campaign shared a statement from Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress.
The 27-year-old congressman from Florida said: “The president’s actions on student debt stand in stark contrast to Trump, who throughout his time in office has undermined efforts to aid borrowers who are just trying to make ends meet. .”
He added: “President Biden knows student debt cancellation is an important issue for our nation’s young people, which is why he is working hard to deliver on his relief promises.”
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday found Biden and Trump neck and neck with young Americans, with 47% of voters ages 18-34 planning to vote for Biden and 45% planning to vote for Trump. .
Meanwhile, when asked about their opinions of the two presidential candidates, only 30% of this group had a favorable opinion of Biden, compared with 39% of Trump.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
