The US president announced on Wednesday, February 21, the forgiveness of loans taken by 1,50,000 Americans worth $1.2 billion by extending his student loan forgiveness program.
The action taken is amid the elections, as the young voters cast ballots for him in large numbers during the presidential elections in 2020.
While a college degree is still a ticket to a better life, that ticket is too expensive. And too many Americans are still saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for a college degree,
said Biden. He stated that a college degree is important for a good life and that education is very expensive. Therefore, many Americans are in debt to achieve a college degree.
There are certain requirements for those who are enrolled in a specific voluntary Savings on a Valuable Education (Save) repayment plan. The loan relief applies to those who have regularly paid for at least 10 years and have borrowed $12,000 or less. According to the data from the Department of Education, 7.5 million people are enrolled in the repayment plan created by the Biden Administration.
The loan relief program was not scheduled to come into action until July, but the Biden Administration revealed that it would get active in February. The experts claim that providing relief from the loan is Biden’s way of getting approval ratings in the presidential elections.
After the announcement, Republicans have made remarks stating that it is a waste of government funds and could have been used in a better place.
However, Maxwell Frost, the first Generation Z member of the US Congress, said,
The President’s actions on student debt are in stark contrast with Trump, who spent his entire time in office sabotaging efforts to aid borrowers who are just trying to make ends meet,
on the announcement of the relief of loan debt for American students.