No, President Joe Biden is not canceling most student loan debt.
Here’s what you need to know — and what it means for your student loans.
Student Loans
reporting from CBSNews yesterday claimed that Biden told a group of lawmakers that he was looking at different options to “forgive most, if not all, student loan debt.” As you can imagine, the bold statement that Biden, a moderate Democrat, was considering total student loan cancellation may have led to temporary retirement among student loan borrowers and advocates for broad student loan forgiveness. However, the wild claim was later revised to reflect what the Biden administration has said for weeks: that Biden is considering “forgiving some federal student loan debt.” “The president never mentioned an amount nor did the president say that he was going to wipe out all student debt,” Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), who attended the meeting, told CBSNews in the revised report.
What Biden has said about student loan cancellation
Despite what you may have read, let’s clarify where Biden stands on wide-scale student loan forgiveness. Student loan cancellation could look different than you think.
- Biden, who has canceled $17 billion of student loans, supports up to $10,000 of wide-scale student loan forgiveness for student loan borrowers;
- Biden wants Congress to pass legislation to enact wide-scale student loan forgiveness, and he will sign any legislation that Congress passes;
- Biden doesn’t support total student loan cancellation or even $50,000 of student loan cancellation;
- Biden doesn’t believe he has the legal authority to enact wide-scale student loan forgiveness through an executive order;
- Biden is considering several potential options for student loans, including some form of wide-scale student loan cancellation; and
- If Biden cancels student loans, it likely happens before November.
The president has not specified how much student loan debt could be canceled, if any, who would qualify, and what the process for student loan forgiveness would be. As such, the earlier headline claiming that Biden said he was considering canceling most or all federal student loan debt seemed inconsistent with his prior statements and policy positions.
Student loan relief is scheduled to end August 31, 2022. Absent any extension, student loan payments will restart September 1. Biden could cancel student loans before then, but there’s no guarantee. That’s why it’s essential to know your best options for student loan repayment. Here are popular ways to pay off student loans faster:
Student Loans: Related Reading
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Student loan cancellation and the student loan payment pause are confusing. Here’s what to know.
www.forbes.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism