President Biden & Federal Student Loan Debt

💰🎓 The White House on Friday denied a WaPo article reporting that the Biden administration has decided to cancel $10,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower.

• WaPo cited three internal sources, two of which said the cancellation would only apply to Americans who earned less than $150,000 last year (or $300,000 for joint filers); these criteria would encompass 97% of all federal student debt holders.
• All three sources claimed President Biden had planned to announce the debt cancellation this past weekend before the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, changed his timing, though a White House spokesperson said “no decisions have been made yet.”

📸 The big picture: Last month, the Biden administration extended the pause on federal student loan payments – initiated at the start of the pandemic – through August 31.

• More than 40 million Americans owe a combined ~$1.6 trillion in federal student debt, an amount larger than credit-card or auto debt. Nearly 80% of federal borrowers made no payments during the pandemic freeze.
• Canceling $10,000 in debt for every student borrower – a campaign pledge from Biden – would cost the US government roughly $245 billion, according to the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

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