In a statement, President Biden called out Republicans who are complaining about his new action to forgive $39 billion in student loans.
The President said in a statement:
I have long said that college should be a ticket to the middle class – not a burden that weighs down on families for decades.
My Administration is delivering on that commitment. Starting today, over 800,000 student loan borrowers who have been repaying their loans for 20 years or more will see $39 billion of their loans discharged because of steps my Administration took to fix failures of the past. These borrowers will join the millions of people that my Administration has provided relief to over the past two years – resulting in over $116 billion in loan relief to over 3 million borrowers under my Administration.
But we’re not stopping there. My Administration has worked hard to secure the largest increases to Pell Grants in a decade, fixed broken loan programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and created a new income-driven repayment plan that will cut undergraduate loan payments in half and bring monthly payments to zero for low-income borrowers. And, when the Supreme Court made the wrong decision, I immediately announced a new plan to open an alternative path to relief for as many borrowers as possible, as soon as possible.
Republican lawmakers – who had no problem with the government forgiving millions of dollars of their own business loans – have tried everything they can to stop me from providing relief to hardworking Americans. Some are even objecting to the actions we announced today, which follows through on relief borrowers were promised, but never given, even when they had been making payments for decades. The hypocrisy is stunning, and the disregard for working and middle-class families is outrageous.
As long as I’m in office, I will continue to work to bring the promise of college to every American.
There is a reason why Biden brought in a record amount of fundraising for his reelection campaign in the second quarter. Those who are looking at popularity or horse race metrics might miss it, but Joe Biden is getting things done for people, and voters have demonstrated throughout his term that when Biden and Democrats deliver they get rewarded at the polls.
Biden has found a powerful issue with student loans that he has used to illustrate the difference in priorities between himself and Republicans.
The GOP complains about anything that helps working and middle-class people.
President Biden knows where his potential voters are, and he is doing everything in his power to deliver for them.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association