Republicans are raging after President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the cancellation of up to $20,000 in student loan debt for certain borrowers, following through on a campaign promise. But Biden shot back, saying he “will never apologize for helping Americans” and scolded Republicans for favoring “a $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy.”
The debt cancellation will apply only to borrowers earning less than $125,000 annually. Student borrowers who also received Pell Grants, which are awarded based on need, would be eligible for the full $20,000 in debt cancellation. Borrowers who didn’t receive Pell Grants could have up to $10,000 of debt canceled. Biden also announced a continuation of the freeze on student loan payments until January.
As many as 43 million borrowers could benefit from the plan, and 20 million could see their debt completely canceled, the White House said Wednesday.
“People can start to finally crawl out from under that mountain of debt to get on top of their rent and utilities, to finally think about buying a home or starting a family or starting a business,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “And by the way, when this happens, the whole economy is better off.”
Don't Miss
The White House is also proposing significant changes to income-based repayment plans offered by the federal government, including a lower payment cap, making it easier to achieve full forgiveness and preventing balances from growing as long as a borrower makes payments, which could have massive benefits for students in the future.
“With the flick of a pen, President Biden has taken a giant step forward in addressing the student debt crisis by canceling significant amounts of student debt for millions of borrowers,” Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
“The positive impacts of this move will be felt by families across the country, particularly in minority communities, and is the single most effective action that the president can take on his own to help working families and the economy.”
Republicans attacked the move, saying that canceling student debt will boost inflation.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Wednesday the move “will make the pain of high prices even worse for Wyoming families.”
In response, Biden took a swipe at Republicans for enacting tax cuts in 2017 that favored the wealthy.
“I will never apologize for helping Americans ― working Americans, middle class ― especially not to the same folks who voted for a $2 trillion tax cut that mainly benefited the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations,” he said.
