Today, the Biden/Harris Administration announced that it was instituting a loan forgiveness program for college students that have up to $10,000 in student loan debt with no Pell Grants and $20,000 with them.
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Citing the tripling of college costs over the last 30 years has tripled (in Arizona, it has risen more drastically)and the fact that federal Pell Grant support has not kept up with the rising costs, making a gravy train for the student loan industry where individuals graduate college with at least $25,000 in debt, President Biden and his Administration will adopt the following measures.
- Provide targeted relief for individuals who make up to $125,000 and married couples who make up to $250,000 by canceling up to $10,000 of student loan debt if the person did not receive Pell Grants and $20,000 if they had.
- The pause on federal student loan payments will be extended until December 31, 2022.
- Reducing month payments for undergraduate student loans.
- Fixing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program so people that work in the government or for a not-for-profit, can up some or all of their loans forgiven.
- Working to ensure that colleges are accountable for justifying tuition hikes and that they do not raise rates too high.
After his presentation to the nation, the White House made several social media posts, including:
A college education is a ticket to a better life. But that ticket is too expensive.
We're extending the student loan payment pause a final time, targeting relief for folks that need it, and fixing the loan system and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. https://t.co/80wXPSTb4V
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022
Today’s action of getting student loan debt relief to borrowers is about opportunity. It’s about giving people a fair shot.
It’s about making sure folks have the breathing room they need to buy a house, open a business, start a family, and save for their future.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022
There is an entire generation now saddled with unsustainable student loan debt in exchange for a college degree.
We’re making incredible progress bringing relief to those that need it and fixing the student loan system so it works for working people. pic.twitter.com/YRNxOXTvCw
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 24, 2022
Reaction to the Biden/Harris Administration Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
Predictably, Democrats reacted with glee to the Biden/Harris Administration move on student loan forgiveness while Republicans (remember the ones who delayed funding healthcare for veterans who were victims of burn pit exposure) objected.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero posted:
Working families and young professionals will finally receive much needed relief! Higher education should not be a dream but an accessible reality for everyone. #studentloanforgiveness https://t.co/R7lufGkdUp
— Regina Romero (@TucsonRomero) August 24, 2022
Speaker Nancy Pelosi posted:
.@POTUS’ bold action is a strong step in Democrats’ fight to expand access to higher education.
By delivering historic targeted student debt relief to millions of borrowers, more working families will be able to meet their kitchen table needs as they recover from the pandemic. https://t.co/nHkBLNvqeG
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 24, 2022
Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted:
Today is a day of joy and relief.
President Biden is cancelling up to $20,000 of federal student debt for as many as 43 million Americans — a powerful step to help rebuild the middle class.
This will be transformative for the lives of working people all across this country.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) August 24, 2022
Senator Chuck Schumer posted:
For decades, borrowers looking to pursue the American Dream have been held back by a predatory student loan system that turned their dreams into debt—while banks and collectors profited.
Today, @POTUS helped right this wrong and helped restore a pathway to the middle class.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 24, 2022
I'm so glad @POTUS heeded our call to cancel student debt for millions of borrowers, including Pell Grant recipients.
Along with the pause on student loan payments, the positive impacts of this will be felt by working families across America—particularly in communities of color.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 24, 2022
Today was a great day because President Biden and Vice President Harris took action to #CancelStudentDebt!
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 24, 2022
Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted:
If SoFI, a student loan refinancing company, could give its CEO a 92% raise last year paying him a grand total of $103 million in compensation and spend $625 million to put its name on the LA Rams football stadium, you know what President Biden can do? Cancel all student debt.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) August 23, 2022
Political Prince of Darkness and Enemy of the People Senator Mitch McConnell posted:
Democrats' student loan socialism is a slap in the face to working Americans who sacrificed to pay their debt or made different career choices to avoid debt. A wildly unfair redistribution of wealth toward higher-earning people. pic.twitter.com/ntyOafgklh
— Leader McConnell (@LeaderMcConnell) August 24, 2022
Senator Ted “I’m abandoning my state during a crisis” Cruz posted:
Insane – and illegal!
We have the highest inflation in 40 years/highest gas prices ever, but Biden wants to spend even more at the expense of hard-working Americans.
The middle class will be stuck with the bill – it's debt transfer.
This is just a Hail Mary before midterms. https://t.co/tJi6yoiztU
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) August 24, 2022
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As written in a previous article on the Blog for Arizona, Democrats will have a great story to tell voters in the 2022 elections.
Since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, they and the Democrats in Congress have largely been the ones, starting with the American Rescue Plan, that supported en masse:
- COVID vaccinations.
- Sending checks to the American People.
- A Child Tax Credit.
- Aid to schools.
- Aid to local governments.
- A bipartisan infrastructure deal that Donald Trump could not get through.
- The first gun control legislation in 30 years.
- Protecting Democracy, access to the ballot, and the integrity of elections.
- Codifying Roe v Wade, same-sex marriage, and the right to purchase contraceptives.
- The CHIPS Act, which will harness the domestic semiconductor industry and make vital investments in the sciences.
- Protecting veterans and law enforcement through measures such as The Pact Act.
- Investments in Green Sustainability and a Prescription Drug Benefit through the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Reducing the budget deficit and fighting inflation.
- Appointing the first black woman (Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson ) to the United States Supreme Court and selecting many qualified jurists for the federal bench.
- Expanding N.A.T.O.
- Supporting Ukraine against Russia, sending the statement that Democracies will not back down from autocratic expansionist aggression.
- Withdrawing from Afghanistan while still maintaining the capability of eliminating major terrorist threats.
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Now the Democrats can add student loan forgiveness to the list of achievements for the American People.
What are the horror and dystopian Republican stories they are going to take to the voters?
- Young girls and women do not have the right to choose and terminate a pregnancy if they were raped or their health was threatened.
- Women should remain in marriages where their spouse is violent.
- You can’t marry who you love if you are a gay and, maybe, a biracial couple.
- Access to the ballot will be compromised.
- The science is wrong on the environment and COVID 19.
- Books should be banned and history teachers should not teach about all the bad things the white people did.
- People do not need to pay affordable prices for prescription drugs like insulin.
- China can have dominance in the semiconductor industry.
- The rich should not have to pay their fair share in taxes.
- Veterans should just have to suck it up from the diseases they are suffering from fighting in wars Republicans helped send them to.
- Religious and white nationalist schools can use taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate students and scam the American People.
- Donald Trump should be able to keep top secret records about the nation’s nuclear capability.
- The F.B.I. should be broken up.
Now Republicans can add they want low and middle-income students to remain saddled in student loan debt so their banker donors can make a buck.
Which story do you think the American People should choose when voting this November?
November 8, 2022, is in 76 days.
Please remember to turn out and vote.
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