President Joe Biden recently unveiled his administration’s plan to forgive massive amounts of student loan debt, especially for those experiencing “hardship.”
The Biden administration’s proposal describes several factors for identifying hardship, including the total amount of funds the borrower owes, history of loan repayment, household income and high-cost burdens and individuals who pursued a career training program that provided “insufficient earnings [or] unreasonable debt.”
The Washington Times reported that borrowers who cannot pay their loans in the next two years will likely qualify for automatic relief. Such individuals would receive relief depending on whether their “hardship” matches the criteria in an application process.
President Biden has unveiled another election-year plan to cancel significant amounts of student loan debt, forgiving the loans of those who are experiencing "hardship." https://t.co/LXV1r4dYzN
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) February 16, 2024
“College is meant to lead a better life, but too many students end up struggling due to their student debt,” Education Undersecretary James Kvaal said.
“The ideas we are outlining … will allow us to help struggling borrowers who are experiencing hardships in their lives, and they are part of President Biden’s overall plan to give breathing room to as many student loan borrowers as possible,” he added.
“It’s an important part of the Biden-Harris administration’s permanent solutions to the problem of unaffordable loans,” the education undersecretary continued.
Such a proposal comes after Biden announced his initial plan to forgive up to $400 billion in student loan debt before it was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices ruled that federal law does not allow the Department of Education to cancel such a whopping amount of debt.
On Feb. 15, 2024, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told reporters that the Biden administration will not stop pursuing different avenues to forgive student loan debt.
“We’ll leave no stone unturned in the fight to fix a broken student loan system,” Cardona said.
The Biden administration’s proposal will soon be debated during a two-day rulemaking session, beginning on Feb. 22, 2024.
“We are trying to figure out how to be as expansive as possible within the limits of the law and the court decision,” a senior administration official said.
Unlike the first proposal, where the Biden administration revealed that 43 million borrowers would have their loans forgiven, the latest plan does not specify the number of individuals who would experience relief.
