Advocates posted a hand-painted sign on the Ellipse in front of the White House to call on Joe Biden to sign an executive order to cancel student debt in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We The 45 Million)
The Biden administration has erased student debt for more than 320,000 borrowers with permanent disabilities. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Education announced the cancellation of nearly $6 billion in federal student loans for Americans with total and permanent disability starting in September.
In addition, qualifying Americans would no longer need to provide earnings records, which have normally required a three year monitoring period. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona commented by saying this forgiveness has been long over due.
Joe Biden has been faced with much heat from Democrats to forgive up to $50,000 per individual in student debt through executive action. However, many Republican lawmakers have argued the majority of borrowers could afford to pay back student loans and plenty of relief options were already available for those who were financially unable.
News: Today, ED announced a new regulation that will provide more than $5.8 billion in automatic student loan discharges to over 323,000 borrowers who have a total & permanent disability (TPD). https://t.co/mou1pKDeSR pic.twitter.com/Dg4yd2JiWh
— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov) August 19, 2021
According to reports, Americans currently owe $2 trillion in student debt.
Source: One America News Network
