US President Joe Biden announces student loan waiver: all you need to know

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced his long-awaited plan to deliver on a campaign promise to provide $10,000 in student debt cancellation for millions of Americans — and up to $10,000 more for those with the greatest financial need — along with new measures to lower the burden of repayment for their remaining federal student debt.

Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, or families earning less than $250,000, would be eligible for the $10,000 loan forgiveness, Biden announced in a tweet. For recipients of Pell Grants, which are reserved for undergraduates with the most significant financial need, the federal government would cancel up to an additional $10,000 in federal loan debt.

Biden is also extending a pause on federal student loan payments for what he called the "final time" through the end of 2022.

Biden has faced pressure from liberals to provide broader relief to hard-hit borrowers, and from moderates and Republicans questioning the fairness of any widespread forgiveness.

Federal student debt has been snowballing for years, leading advocates to call it a national crisis.

According to the National Student Loan Data System, the amount owed by borrowers has more than tripled since 2007, with the current total at $1.6 trillion. Nearly one third of all American students take out loans to pay for college, with the average individual student debt reaching a record high of $37,014 in 2021.

Of 43 million American borrowers, about one in three owe less than $10,000, according to federal data.

As a candidate, Biden said he wanted to "immediately cancel" at least $10,000 in student debt per person, matching a proposal from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. But once he took office, Biden balked, raising questions about his authority and saying the action should come from Congress and not the White House.

Republicans denounce student debt cancellation as an unfair handout, saying it helps wealthy college graduates at the expense of taxpayers who didn't attend college.

Proponents say it will free more Americans to buy homes and achieve other milestones that have been delayed because of debt.

Even among Democrats, the issue doesn't have universal support, however. Some have quietly pushed other ways to tackle student debt, including by expanding federal Pell grants and overhauling the student loan system.

Critics of forgiveness call it a short-term solution that does nothing to fix the underlying causes of the nation's skyrocketing student debt. Others point out that it's unfair to borrowers who already repaid their debt, and to future students who will take on new debt with no expectation of forgiveness.

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