The Biden administration said Friday that is using existing student loan forgiveness programs to cancel another round of student debt, totaling $7.4 billion for 277,000 borrowers.

Under President Joe Biden, the Department of Education has made it easier for some specific groups of borrowers, like public sector workers, to qualify for loan forgiveness. It also launched a new repayment plan that creates a shorter pathway to loan forgiveness for many low-income borrowers – and is at issue in at least two legal challenges from Republican-led states.

In total, the Biden administration has authorized the cancellation of $153 billion in student loan debt for nearly 4.3 million people. That’s more than 9% of all outstanding federal student loan debt.

  • gastationsushi@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Democrats have a messaging problem, it’s confusing the way Biden is going about debt relief.

    Biden should pause student debt payments and interest while he’s president. He can tell the press congress needs to pass a reform bill first before payments restart.

    It’s a simple idea, and let the courts try an micromanage a presidency.

    • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      Biden should pause student debt payments and interest while he’s president. He can tell the press congress needs to pass a reform bill first before payments restart.

      I think that’s a great idea. Do it now and they really don’t have time to scramble the eggs before November. Overall though I completly agree with you on the messaging issue.

      For these borrowers, he should be insisting on sending a letter that “You personally had your debt forgiven by Joe Biden”, similar to how Trump insisted he get his signature on checks he didn’t write (and got it btw).

      Its optics, but optics matter. Biden needs to be able to own the things that make a material difference in peoples lives. Its why shit like the infrastructure bill just elicits an eye roll. Repairing a bridge five years from now is important, but its not gonna make a difference this November.

  • GiuseppeAndTheYeti@midwest.social
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    7 months ago

    I wish we could vote to quarantine people into labeled sections of Lemmy. Everytime Biden does something that represents positive change there’s an influx of begging choosers saying that “he didn’t do enough” or “but what about this!”. He’s cancelled 153 billion with a B dollars in 4 years without having a majority in congress. That’s an exceptional accomplishment. May I remind everyone how much debt on middle class Americans were forgiven of under Trump or Bush or Reagan?

    Biden is up against the most conservative and corrupt Supreme Court panel in history and a republican party that is so determined to torpedo anything that comes to the floor that they booted out their speaker of the house for coming to an agreement on the budget and replaced him with a speaker that they’re threatening to replace for nearly coming to a deal with democrats that would enable the US, for the first time in history, to close it’s borders. The only thing wrong with it was that it took away their boogeyman to campaign on.

    • chakan2@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      The lesser of two evils is still evil. It’s cool he’s forgiving student loans. But there’s no sugar coating the mediocre job he’s done and the impending doom his (the Democrats) apathy is about to impart on us.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    The same people who say Biden can’t do this because it won’t work are now going to demand we give credit for Biden doing this…

    Unfortunately most voters are smart enough to see Biden only starts trying to do stuff right before elections, and once the election is over him and the other moderates go back to ignoring it.

    Like, sometimes I feel like Biden supporters are just privileged suburbanites who never had to deal with a drug addict before.

    You can’t give them credit for what they say they’re gonna do, you wait till they do it then give them credit.

    • Brokkr@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      It is OK for politicians to do things that help the general population. If that makes them favorable in the election and people vote for the politician, that’s OK too. That’s a democracy. Politicians are supposed to make and use the government to help people.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        How could you read this thread and think my problem was politicians helping people?

        When I’ve been complaining about them not helping people and only doing token actions if an election is imminent?

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Among a long list of other things, he took action on day one of his presidency to pause student loan payments.

        I mean, being more conservative than trump on day 1 would have been a pretty dumb move…

        He did continue Trump’s pause, so there is that

        Some people just have higher standards than that tho…

        And you phrased that poorly, it sounds like you think Biden started it rather than not ending it.

        • thesystemisdown@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Fair enough on the poorly phrased part, but Biden followed up with a $400 billion debt relief program in 2022. The Trump appointed Supreme Court blocked it. 2022 was not a presidential election year.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Yes…

            He waited till right before midterms, said he would accomplish something, but didn’t.

            Now it’s two years later, right before an election, and Biden is saying hell accomplish something again…

            He waited till it was close to an election again, and the SC is the same.

            So why are we giving him credit already for something unlikely to actually happen? And why did he wait till right before an election to try anything else?

            This is my whole point…

            • thesystemisdown@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              By that logic, initiatives are always affected by an election year. An election of some variety is always around the corner.

              The SCOTUS ruling didn’t happen until June, 2023. The president does not set the Supreme Court’s agenda.

              • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                By that logic, initiatives are always affected by an election year.

                What? Just because Biden waits for an election doesn’t mean he has to…

                That’s my point he shouldn’t be waiting.

                The SCOTUS ruling didn’t happen until June, 2023.

                And Biden waited for the decision before ever thinking about this again, so when it was struck down he didn’t have anything on deck. Or more likely he had this and was just waiting till right before an election so he could get credit for something that wasn’t going to do anything.

                He didn’t even have a plan when he was elected, his first day in office he started talking about “looking into” if he should try and fufil campaign promises.

                He’s not proactive, he’s reactive. And that’s not enough to repair the damage republicans cause, let alone actually improve shit.

  • Verdant Banana@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    That’s more than 9% of all outstanding federal student loan debt.

    quarter assing it as usual but asking for more fundraising and votes like he did something

    just like with everything else he does