Biden cancels $1.2 billion in student debt for over 150,000 student-loan borrowers

The move – which benefits those enrolled in the government’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan – wipes out loans for those who borrowed less than $12,000 for their higher education. Other income-driven repayment plans also forgive balances, but only after 20 or 25 years of repayment.

Biden plans to address the college debt relief announcement — a major 2024 campaign issue for young voters — during a speech Wednesday in Culver City, California, according to his advisers. 

“With today’s announcement, we are once again sending a clear message to borrowers who had low balances: If you’ve been paying for a decade, you’ve done your part, and you deserve relief,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement.

The latest round pushes the total relief approved by the Biden administration to nearly $138 billion, benefiting 3.9 million borrowers. That number could grow as more people become eligible for forgiveness under the SAVE program, which has 6.9 million people enrolled. Administration officials have declined to estimate how many borrowers will eventually see loans forgiven under the program.

Yet the efforts fall short of the president’s proposal for more sweeping student loan cancellation — as much as $20,000 in relief per borrower – that was struck down last year by the US Supreme Court. That forgiveness plan was estimated to cost $400 billion.

That disconnect may have eroded support for Biden, particularly among young voters who have also voiced frustration over his administration’s handling of issues including the war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

A plurality of Gen-Z voters – 43% — said Biden was doing too…