President Joe Biden announced his final decision to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for Americans making less than $125,000 a year.
The president announced details of his plan on social media, citing his “campaign promise” to give “working and middle-class families breathing room” on student loans.
In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023.
I’ll have more details this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/kuZNqoMe4I
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022
The president will forgive debts of up to $20,000 dollars for students who went to college on Pell grants and $10,000 for students who did not receive Pell grants.
Debt forgiveness only applies to individuals earning less than $125,000 or couples filing joint earnings of $250,000.
Biden plans to deliver remarks about his plan and announce further details Wednesday afternoon.
The president made his decision after several months of dithering on the issue, facing pressure from more leftist Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
The Wharton School of Economics estimates Biden’s plan will cost at least $300 billion.
Biden’s decision disappointed leftists who wanted to see a more aggressive plan to forgive college debt.
Senators like Warren pushed the president to forgive up to $50,000 per person, which could cost as much as $933 billion according to the Wharton estimate.
The president also announced his decision to extend the 2020 pause on student loan repayments during the pandemic again until December 31, 2022.
