President Joe Biden canceled $7.4 billion in student debt in another round of loan forgiveness Friday, pressing ahead with his trademark relief initiatives despite fierce Republican resistance to the topic, which is a hotspot in the 2024 elections.
Biden stated that changes to existing student loan forgiveness programs will result in the cancellation of around 277,000 loans.
The majority of eligible borrowers are enrolled in Biden's Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, which the White House launched last summer after the Supreme Court struck down its debt relief program,
as well as those enrolled in the government's public service loan forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans, according to the White House.
According to the Department of Education, approximately $3.6 billion in relief will be provided to roughly 206,000 borrowers under SAVE,
with some borrowers eligible for forgiveness after reaching ten years of payments, a decade earlier than the prior milestone.
Furthermore, roughly 66,000 people will get $3.5 billion in administrative modifications to income-driven repayment plans,
which the education department claims will assist "address longstanding concerns with the misuse of forbearance by loan servicers."