Biden admin announces cancellation of $7.7B in student loans, Internet calls it 'stealing from taxpayers'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Joe Biden announced that his administration had approved the cancellation of an additional $7.7 billion of student loan for 160,500 borrowers on Wednesday, May 22.

According to CBS News, this brings the total amount of student loan debt forgiven by the Biden administration to $167 billion, affecting 4.75 million people. That comes down to about 1 in 10 student loan borrowers, stated the Department of Education.

US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona shared in a statement, "One out of every 10 federal student loan borrowers approved for debt relief means one out of every 10 borrowers now has financial breathing room and a burden lifted."

The move is reportedly part of the President's ongoing efforts to provide student debt relief after the US Supreme Court had blocked his plan for broad-based college loan forgiveness in 2023.

People who qualify for the latest loan forgiveness

Three groups of borrowers were mentioned by the Biden administration for the loan waiver on Wednesday.

The first among them are public servants such as teachers, nurses, and law enforcement officers.

Through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that is designed to help them get their debt canceled after 10 years of repayments, 66,900 such borrowers will have $5.2 billion waved off.

The next group is of 54,300 borrowers who signed up for Biden's SAVE Plan, and who will have $613 million forgiven through the same.

Finally, another 39,200 borrowers will have $1.9 billion waived through adjustments to their income-driven repayment plans. Loan servicers sometimes mismanaged these plans, making it difficult for borrowers to achieve forgiveness.

The debt cancellation is expected to be processed within a few weeks, every qualifying person will be notified via email.

Internet worries Biden's student loan waiver may burden taxpayers

Reacting to the President Joe Biden's announcement on X (formerly Twitter), a social media user user wrote, "Stealing more tax money to buy votes... The pander is real!"

"Thanks for burdening the taxpayers more," said another.

"Defying SCOTUS and stealing from tax payers. Helluva platform for re election," one individual stated.

"This administration is completely out of touch with every day Americans," another added.

"I paid off my student loans. Do I get a refund with interest?" One person asked.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.