The White House on Wednesday announced that President Biden has canceled another $1.2 billion in student loan debt for more than 150,000 borrowers earlier than expected.
In an executive action that was originally planned for July, Biden has activated a Savings on Valuable Education (SAVE) plan policy that cancels debt for enrolled borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 10 years and hold $12,000 or less in student loan debt. Those with larger debts will receive relief after an additional year of payments for every additional $1,000 they borrowed.
“This shortened time to forgiveness will particularly help community college and other borrowers with smaller loans and put many on track to being free of student debt faster than ever before,” the White House said in a statement. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration’s SAVE plan, 85 percent of future community college borrowers will be debt free within 10 years.”
Biden has now unilaterally wiped away nearly $138 billion in federal student loans for almost 3.9 million borrowers without a single act of Congress. The student loan bailouts come after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Biden’s initial debt cancelation plan last year, which would have cost more than $400 billion.