Democrats were outraged this summer when the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's plan to saddle taxpayers with student loan debt.
Yet despite that ruling, Biden announced this week that he is pushing ahead with a new version of his plan.
According to the Associated Press, the president outlined elements of his proposal on Wednesday in the White House's Roosevelt Room.
"My administration is doing everything we can to deliver student debt relief to as many as we can, as fast as we can," Biden was quoted as saying.
By freeing millions of Americans from the crushing burden of student debt, it means they can finally get on with their lives.
They can think about buying a house, starting a business, or starting a family.
It matters. pic.twitter.com/00yTxCmyYd
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 4, 2023
"While a college degree is still the ticket toward a better life, that ticket has become excessively expensive. Americans who are saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for a college degree has become the norm," he went on to add.
Fox Business reported that the Biden administration has thus far offloaded some $127 billion worth of student debt for 3.6 million onto the public purse.
Under the terms of Wednesday's announcement, an additional 125,000 new student loan borrowers will be eligible for $9 billion in relief.
Fixing our broken student loan system doesn’t just get working folks breathing room – it’s good for our economy and our country. pic.twitter.com/GTaaS4xe2M
— President Biden (@POTUS) October 5, 2023
Five point two billion dollars of that total will be distributed among 53,000 borrowers under Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs.
An additional $2.8 billion will go to 51,000 borrowers via income-driven repayment programs while another $1.2 billion will be made available to 22,000 disabled borrowers.
Meanwhile, NBC News reported that Biden's announcement came days after 45 million student loan borrowers had to resume making payments.
Borrowers had hitherto been spared from making payments thanks grace period that began in March of 2020 and was renewed multiple times.
"Everything day-to-day seems to already be overwhelming. We’ve put different bills on credit cards and so my credit card payments have ballooned," borrower Domonique Byers told NBC News. "With this student loan payment resuming, it just seems suffocating."
