Biden's $39 billion action, announced Friday, provides 804,000 federal student loan borrowers with relief after the Department of Education reviewed its income-driven repayment plans. The move comes before the Federal Reserve is anticipated to raise interest rates this month and before federal student loan debt repayments, paused during the pandemic, resume in October, putting more pressure on household budgets as many voters criticize the president's handling of the economy.
"I have long said that college should be a ticket to the middle class — not a burden that weighs down on families for decades," Biden said."Republican lawmakers — who had no problem with the government forgiving millions of dollars of their own business loans — have tried everything they can to stop me from providing relief to hardworking Americans. ... The hypocrisy is stunning, and the disregard for working- and middle-class families is outrageous.
2020 election census data revealed college-educated voters represented 42% of the electorate, an increase from 40% in 2016, 37% in 2012, and 34% in 2008. Biden outperformed former President Donald Trump with the demographic, 61%-37%, and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton against Trump by four percentage points, 57%-36%, according to Pew Research Center.
"We will not stop there," she said of the announcement."Last month, President Biden announced we are pursuing an alternative path to provide relief through the Higher Education Act, and we finalized our new income-driven repayment plan — which will cut monthly payments in half for undergraduate loans."