Biden outlines massive student loan forgiveness program after Supreme Court shuts down initial plan
The new initiative would "address the disproportionate debt burden on borrowers of color and other vulnerable borrowers," the White House said.
President Joe Biden outlined new plans to cancel student debt for more than 30 million Americans with administration officials scheduled to speak in swing states across the country on Monday in honor of the initiative, which comes after the Supreme Court last year struck down his first student loan forgiveness plan.
While Biden is speaking in Wisconsin on the plan, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to speak in Pennsylvania and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff will be in Arizona to discuss the plans. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is the only Biden administration figure not traveling to a swing state for the event, as he is attending a meeting with borrowers in New York City in honor of the new plans.
The Education Department created the new plan as an alternative to the original one, which the Supreme Court struck down in June. The first plan was worth about $500 billion dollars and impacted 43 million Americans, according to the court's ruling.
It is unclear how the administration formulated this new proposal differently than the previous one.
The price of the new initiative is unclear, but the White House said it will "address the disproportionate debt burden on borrowers of color and other vulnerable borrowers."
The administration also slammed elected Republicans for not approving loan cancellation, and said that Biden is trying to help "as many borrowers as possible," touting how the administration "has approved $146 billion in student debt relief for 4 million Americans through more than two dozen executive actions."
Using those numbers, the federal government has allocated about $36,500 for every borrower under the administration's previous student loan initiatives.
The new plan, which has yet to be finalized, would eliminate interest for 23 million borrowers and cancel debt for millions of borrowers.