Biden Administration Proposes Plan to Provide Debt Relief for 12 Million Student Loan Borrowers

The Education Department on Monday released a new plan that would provide debt relief for four groups of borrowers with federal student loans. These include people who have loan balances that exceed what they originally borrowed, those with loans that are more than 25 years past the start of their repayment date, those who took out loans for career-training programs that created unreasonable debt loads or provided insufficient earnings, and those who are eligible for forgiveness but have not proactively applied.

The proposal comes months after the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s sweeping pandemic-era debt relief plan in June. The plan was intended to provide relief to the estimated 44 million Americans with student loan debt, which totals more than $1.7 trillion.

The Biden administration’s new plan is seen as a way to chip away at the nation’s enormous student debt problem. The Education Department estimates that the proposal could provide relief to up to 12 million borrowers, although the exact number of borrowers who will benefit is still unknown.

The proposal is currently open for public comment and will be finalized after a period of review. The Education Department has not yet released details on how the plan will be implemented or when it will take effect.

The Biden administration’s student debt relief proposal is seen as a step in the right direction for borrowers struggling with student loan debt. While the exact details of the plan are still unknown, it is hoped that it will provide much-needed relief to millions of borrowers.