Biden announces nearly $5 billion of student loan forgiveness

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced roughly $5 billion in student loan debt relief, affecting roughly 80,000 borrowers.

"Today my Administration is approving another $4.8 billion in student debt cancellation for 80,300 people," a White House statement announced. "This relief is thanks to my Administration’s efforts to fix Public Service Loan Forgiveness, so teachers, members of the military, nurses, and other public service workers get the relief they have earned. And it’s because of actions my Administration took to make sure that borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 20 years – but didn’t accurately get credit for student loan payments – get the relief they are entitled to."

"From Day One of my Administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity – not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt.  I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams," it continued.

The White House further touted Biden's prior efforts to cancel student loan debt, stating that Thursday's announcement brings the total student debt his administration had canceled to $132 billion for 3.6 million Americans. His larger efforts, however, have been met with judicial scrutiny.

The Supreme court in June of this year ruled 6-3 against Biden's student loan debt cancellation plan, which would have cancelled up to $10,000 in debt for most borrowers and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. The administration subsequently announced the "SAVE" plan, an "income-driven" debt cancellation plan that University of Pennsylvania's Penn Wharton Budget Model estimates could cost as much as $559 billion.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.