President Joe Biden is taking a massive step of using his executive power to cancel student loan debt.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Biden wrote, “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.”
He shared a graphic that explained that $20,000 of debt would be forgiven for students who went to college on Pell Grants.
And $10,000 in student loan debt will be forgiven for borrowers who did not receive Pell Grants.
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.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022
I'll have more details this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/kuZNqoMe4I
Only borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year will qualify for the loan forgiveness.
Additionally, his administration will issue a “final” extension of the pause on student loan payments through Dec. 31, 2022.
A “fact-sheet” released by the White House reported that 90% of the benefit of the loan cancellations will “go to borrowers earning less than $75,000 a year.”
It also claims the move will “advance racial equity.”
Reports earlier this year indicated that Biden was considering forgiving some amount of student loan debt.
The concern that the president would act to erase some amount of student debt triggered frustration and concerns among conservatives. Charlie Cook of the conservative National Review wrote on Tuesday that if the reporting was accurate, it would “represent a giant middle finger to America” and a “middle finger to the Constitution, which vests legislative power in Congress, not the president.”